Katandra West dairy farmers Gayle and Laurie Clark have redirected their focus when it comes to employing staff.
The couple has chosen to focus on young staff and it’s paying off.
“We had a young guy from New Zealand come to work with us in the summer of 2023 and he enjoyed it so much he came back to work for us permanently,” Gayle said.
“We now have four non-family members employed; they are all young and they all do an amazing job.
“They all live together in the one house so different maturities wouldn’t work.”
The young team brings a whole lot of energy and enthusiasm to the job, which also inspires Gayle and Laurie.
They work on a rotating roster with four on (two early and two late) in the dairy and two days off.
“We also try to find the niche of what they like to do and balance that alongside the jobs that have to be done,” Gayle said.
Providing an environment where their young workers can grow has also been rewarding for the couple.
“We get a lot of enjoyment watching the kids gain skills, confidence and knowledge and reach the potential they are capable of.”
She said young people are inspired by nature and agriculture, and animal husbandry is proving to be a popular career choice.
“We always get a good number of prospects when we advertise.”
Gayle said one of the keys to their success has been finding an advertising platform which works well for their business.
“We have redirected our focus to training a more permanent workforce rather than using backpackers and we acknowledge there is always going to be some sort of training involved.
“We would rather put that energy into permanent staff than someone who moves on in three months’ time, and we have to start the process all over again.”
After purchasing their water requirements for spring, the season ahead is looking positive and the business is focused on maximising home-grown feed.
The Clarks have just finished their third calving for the year. They have one more in November and then it is a nice easy cruise into Christmas and the new year.
Herd numbers will hit 450 and there is a large number of young stock surplus to their needs ready to come through over coming seasons.
Sexed semen is used on the high-grade cows with Wagyu used on the lesser-quality cows.
This year they put Angus over the heifers and Gayle said she has been surprised by the calving ease.
This has meant they have had to be on the ball when it comes to tagging because they certainly haven’t had to spend as much time watching heifers calve, and Waygu and Angus both produce black calves.
“We need to make sure the calves make it to their right destination,” Gayle said.
Gayle is also trialling running donkeys with the calves after purchasing two jennyies privately.
“This idea has been in the back of my mind for a couple years and when the opportunity came I decided to go for it — we do get foxes from time to time.”
Gayle did look at other options.
“I had to train a Maremma and feed it independently, an alpaca needed to be shorn and I thought donkeys have a simple diet and could just run with the calves.
“We just have to make sure they don’t have any additives for ruminants like Rumensin or Bovatec.
“Donkeys have good mothering instincts and in the presence of an intruder like a fox they will bray.”
Donkeys are very social and require the company of another animal, so Gayle couldn’t just purchase one — she got two and they do have the potential to live up to 50 years old.
“We are trying something new and in the future we may even breed from them.
“Our two will come up for carrots but they were rescues from Queensland originally and it would be great to have really friendly donkeys.
“Having pets around a farm is great for everyone’s mental health.”