Meet the new faces at Murray Dairy

Murray Dairy has recently welcomed two new team members, regional extension officer – Young Dairy Network (YDN) co-ordinator Bec Wyper, and regional extension officer – Our Farm Our Plan project Russell Holman.

Ms Wyper will be known to some of the farming community as having completed a graduate placement with Murray Dairy under the Accelerating Change project a few years ago, then going on to work with Reid Stockfeeds.

Since her time with Murray Dairy, Ms Wyper has successfully run three Young Dairy Network meetings with great attendance and mapped out the group's next 12 months of activities. She also ran her first Cups On Cups Off course with Keith Fletcher from Rochester vets, where 19 farmers joined in the session at Moyhu to learn about how to improve their shed practices.

“I find that the majority of the dairy industry is very welcoming and supportive and happy to help support those around them,” Ms Wyper said.

“They don’t compete against each other as such and are happy to help out where needed.

“I’m looking forward to being able to guide and assist dairy farmers in our industry to strengthen the future for dairy. With evolving technology and challenging seasons, it’s important to keep learning and exploring adoptions for your business.”

Mr Holman grew up on a dairy farm at Bamawm and he and his wife Loretta ran their own dairy farm for 15 years.

He has been actively involved in agriculture across the region, working with Tatura Milk and Coopers & Merial.

After starting his role at Murray Dairy, Mr Holman has been planning a number of Our Farm Our Plan courses, designed to help farmers “Get their Game Plan” by identifying long-term goals, improving business performance and managing volitility.

“I am impressed with the way dairy farmers in our region keep evolving and adapting new practices to improve both productivity and lifestyle,” Mr Holman said.

“I can’t wait to continue the roll-out of the Our Farm Our Plan project to dairy farmers in the Murray Dairy region. Beginning with the Farm Fitness Checklist, this program equips the key decision makers in each business to prioritise where they will put their effort, clarifies their long-term business and personal goals, identifies actions needed to achieve goals, and better manage uncertainty and risk.”