Clint and Tania Staley milk 700 Friesian/Holstein cows in a 50-stand rotary dairy, off a milking platform of 405 hectares at Toora, called Franklin Downs.
They also own a dryland outblock of 295ha.
The herd’s annual milk production averages 650kg milk solids per cow.
Clint and Tanis began their farm-ownership journey as sharefarmers at Yarram, where they built their asset base.
Twelve years ago they purchased an initial 168ha at Franklin Downs, with the 50-unit rotary, and 315 milking cows plus young stock, and began building their land assets from there.
“We started growing the herd straight away, we kept all our heifer calves,” Clint said.
“We had the ability with our Yarram property to get some surplus heifers to add to the herd at Franklin Downs.
“And we purchased 60 in-calf and in-milk cows in that first year to add to that herd.”
The herd is split-calving. The heifers and 70 per cent of the milking cows calve in July-August, with the balance of the herd calving down in February-March.
“We AI everything,” Clint said.
“We use Datamars collars to identify rumination and health and heat status for the cows.
“The main herd gets three rounds of artificial insemination – three weeks of sexed Holstein semen, three weeks of conventional Holstein semen, then three weeks using Angus conventional semen.
“With the rising two-year-olds, we do a seeder program. They get one AI go with Holstein sexed semen, then follow up with Angus conventional semen.”
The breeding strategy is to focus on robust cow health traits and functionality.
“We have an ongoing attention to hoof and leg soundness in our cows, because the farm’s topography and size means they walk long distances,” Tania said.
The decision to turn off a cow is based on fertility.
“I’ve got a limit of 250 days,” Clint said.
“If they’re not in calf by 250 days, I keep them until their production drops, then they’re sold at Koonwarra.”
The livestock exchange at Koonwarra is the closest saleyards to Toora.
The herd age averages five years old.
The outblock is used for grazing dairy yearlings to rising two-years-old heifers.
Clint and Tania also raise 150 head of dairy-beef cattle, turning them off as trade cattle. These Angus-cross cattle are bred from heifers and the bottom end of the herd.
Tania and Clint also raise Wagyu-dairy calves, bred from their February-March calving herd. These cattle are turned off at 200kg.
Tania and Clint have been breeding and raising Wagyu-dairy cattle for the past six years, in a contract with the Sher family of Beefcorp Australia. Since 1996, the Sher family has been providing semen to Victorian dairy farmers to use in their Holstein cows, to breed an F1 calf.
“Our dairy heifers are brought back from the outblock at six weeks prior to calving, to get them familiar with the dairy feed ration and using the feedpad,” Clint said.
They breed 160 replacements annually, and recently began selecting this final group of heifers based on genomics.
“We started using DNA testing last spring – looking at wellness and fertility traits, and longevity of life and production,” Clint said.
There were 223 heifer calves genomically tested from the 2025-drop.
“I want to raise the best 160 calves, rather than spend the time and money raising 200 calves and choosing our replacement heifers when they’re older,” Tania said.
“It saves us $10,000 per annum in feed costs alone for that group of animals.
“Over four lactations, that contributes a profit of $40,000 for that group of animals.”
With trait reliability confirmed by genomic testing, Clint and Tania are responsible for optimising animal and pasture management and feeding to enable each cow to perform to its capacity.
A 150Ml irrigation license enables them to take seasonal water from the nearby Franklin River to irrigate 40ha of pasture, using a lateral shift system.
The Franklin River also supplies stock and domestic water supply and wash down water in the dairy.
Apart from the 40ha of irrigated pasture, the remainder of the home farm is dryland.
“About the only grazing on the farm is on the irrigated pasture,” Clint said.
A concrete feed pad was constructed in 2020, with capacity for 800 cows; and is used practically all year round.
“Ninety per cent of the fodder fed out is fed on the feed pad.
“The wet weather is our main reason for installing the feed pad.
“During the wet weather we do next to no feeding in the paddock.”
The business focus is on producing home-grown feed for grazing and silage production.
“Cows go to the paddock to graze during those times of the year when feed is available,” Clint said.
“They then return to the feed pad for silage.
“If we feed silage in the paddock, about 50 per cent of it is wasted. When we feed silage on the feed pad, there’s only five per cent wastage.
“We also mix crushed wheat into the grass silage on the feed pad to increase quality, protein and intake of what they’re eating, which also increases milk production.”
Clint and Tania purchase 1500 tonne per year of wheat, as whole grain, and crush it themselves.
A 100-kilowatt solar power unit installed at the dairy six months ago runs the hot water system and the grain crushing mill.
Spring harvest of grass silage is a day-by-day decision, based on pasture quality and access.
“Depending on conditions, we might be able to harvest one paddock, or 10 paddocks,” Clint said.
“Home-grown feed is our biggest challenge and we’ve changed our pasture management over the years to a cropping program.
“On the home farm, 8-9tDM/ha is grown on a reasonable year.”
Clint and his team have recently harvested 970 dry tonne of maize, off 60ha dryland. It is the third year he has sown and grown maize on the farm, starting at 20ha in the first year, doubling in the second year, then sowing down 60ha in the third year.
All maize and pasture is harvested as pit silage.
The outblock is also used for fodder production, and is undergoing an extensive renovation program to improve its quality and productivity.
“We harvested 2500 dry tonne of grass hay and silage off the outblock and we’ve started to do some cropping over there for young stock to graze,” Clint said.
“Cropping is part of the renovation plan on that block.
“We started with a leafy turnip and red wheat, and we’ll sow back into permanent ryegrass with a blend of other grasses.”
Fodder harvested on the outblock is stored there, and Clint and Tania use their own truck to transport it to the home farm, where it is fed out on the feed pad.
“The open market to purchase fodder is too expensive for our business model,” Clint said.
“We want to maximise the quality of forage we produce across the two farms.”
Underpinning this production system is a workforce of fulltime and casual staff, including backpackers and international workers.
Tania and Clint are fulltime on the farm. Their second-in-command employee has been working with them for nine years.
Among their other four fulltime employees, two of them are international workers who have been working with Clint and Tania for three years. Another fulltime worker has been working on their farm for four years.
Three casual roles are backfilled by backpackers, mostly working as milkers and feeding calves.
“The backpackers are fulfilling their 88 days,” Clint said.
This enables people from overseas travelling on holiday visas in Australia to qualify for a second or third-year Subclass 417 Working Holiday Makers Visa, by doing 88 calendar days of work in the agricultural sector, in designated regional postcodes.