Bigger isn’t always better

While other farms are using new technologies, Mal and Kay-Anne have stuck with the basics and continue to rely on their hands-on experience.

And it’s working.

For the first time, their Nullawarre farm has achieved a Milk Quality Diamond from Dairy Australia, placing them in the nation’s top 100 for milk quality.

While they have won other awards in the past, the Diamond title took them by surprise.

“I don’t really know why; we didn’t do anything different,” Mal said.

“There’s no science in what we do here; no magic. We don’t herd test, and we haven’t AI’d a cow for 25 years.

You just look after your animals, grow good feed and do a lot of it yourself.”

While Mal and Kay-Anne don’t have modern gizmos, they do have experience, dedication and a good eye.

Mal said that being with the cows every day was a major key to their success.

“We do everything ourselves, the tracks, the fences, the repairs, the milking, so we’re there with them and looking at them all the time,” he said.

“If you’ve got a crook cow, you find it straight away. It’s personal hands-on experience.”

Apart from some purchased grain, all feed is home-grown, and Mal and Kay-Anne continue to farm with a debt-free attitude, mixing the dairy business with a growing transport operation.

The farm produces 750,000 to 800,000 litres a year, with their Holstein cows peaking at 27 litres. Their cell count sits at 79,000 with butterfat at 4.35kg and protein at 3.52kg.

The farm has been in the Croft family for about 100 years, covering three generations.

Mal and Kay-Anne stepped up to management a few years ago when Mal’s father, Mal senior, decided to semi-retire.

At 83, Mel senior is no longer running the business, but he’s helping as needed, with everything from truck driving to milking.

The home farm at Nullawarre covers just 60 hectares and is supported by a 100ha outblock at Curdievale used for young stock, dry cows and cutting hay.

Until about 20 years ago they milked 250 with split calving.

“It was too much work,” Mal admits.

“You were calving cows and chasing feed all the time. We were either joining them or pulling out the calves – it was one thing or the other.

“It was full on, and you were constantly chasing your tail, so we just got rid of those we didn’t need.”

They’re still nearly a cow to the acre on the home farm and Mal says they have the balance right, allowing time for family and the trucking business.

The 30-a-side swingover herringbone with cup removers built in 1999 allows them to milk in five runs, with size and numbers not being sufficient for a rotary dairy.

This year they made 947 rolls of hay at the Curdievale property, the most for several years.

They re-drilled most of the farm, but were worried when growth was slow in early 2025 as the region endured an awful drought, but things picked up in spring.

“We had a good year and even did a bit of silage on the home farm.”

The Nullawarre property has irrigation, but, true to form, Mal doesn’t push it too hard.

“We just have a travelling irrigator,” Mal said.

“We could put in a centre pivot, but the traveller does a 400-metre run, and it just takes me an hour to shift it.

“We don’t like debt around here. I understand there are times when people have to be in debt, but we’re lucky that we don’t have to be, and we choose to stay that way.”

They have also kept it simple with suppliers, sticking with Nestlé and then Fonterra.

“We’re not debt-driven so we don’t have to worry about chasing suppliers.

“We’ve never been one for chasing factories and changing and swapping for a better price, because we don’t have to worry about servicing debt, and they all have to be competitive these days.”

In breeding, Mal and Kay-Anne buy AI bulls from local farmers they know have good herds.

“We try not to go for big animals, just mid-range, and we like them to be easy milking,” Mal said.

When two families were in the business, the farm was not quite big enough to support both, which led to the creation of the trucking business.

“Dad had an old truck and had the odd person wanting a few cows shifted and it started from there,” Mal said.

“We started carting calves for calf buyers and it evolved and got bigger.

“We’ve got two big trucks now and they’re going nearly every day.”

While they do all the farm work on their own, they do hire a driver to keep up with demand of the transport business.

At nearly 63, Mal is thinking of retiring, but would stay on the land.

“The kids are not interested and that’s okay. Farming is a big tie and you have to want to do it,” he said.

“Whereas, I was here to help Dad, we’ve got no-one that wants to do it.

“We could employ someone, but we might just run some beefies and do some truck work — we want to keep active.”

As for Mal senior, he still enjoys helping where he can.

“I try to keep out of mischief and mind my own business, but I’m happy to help out when I’m asked.”