Matt and Nicola Templeton run View Fort Holsteins and Jerseys, a South Gippsland farm that currently milks 240 Holstein and Jersey cows.
They both grew up on dairy farms and couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
“I like farming, and I do it mainly for the cows. You’d find a lot of easier jobs than this,” Matt said.
Nicola is originally from Queensland before she made her home in Victoria, bringing Jerseys with her.
“I brought a bit of home with me. Most of the original cows are still with us,” she said.
Matt and Nicola both grew up showing dairy cows, which was where they first met. Both their families were passionate about breeding champion dairy cows — Matt’s family focused on Holsteins and Nicola’s family on Jerseys.
It is no surprise the duo has become a competitive force in the showing scene, recently being crowned back-to-back overall grand champion at International Dairy Week (IDW).
To add to their success, they recently won a silver milk quality award, which is awarded to dairy farmers in the top five per cent of farms with the lowest BMCC (bulk milk cell counts) nationally.
“We don’t keep the cell count down to win plaques, we do it because we want to produce quality milk,” Nicola said.
More success followed last year for Matt and Nicola when one of their Holsteins sold for the highest price at the 2021 Winner’s Circle online auction. This auction replaced International Dairy Week that had been cancelled due to COVID-19.
When preparing for IDW, Matt and Nicola devote a lot of time and planning in selecting their preferred cows. Deciding which cow to take is something that takes place long before the event.
“It can take up to two years to get the cow ready. It’s a long-term process,” Nicola said.
This year was no exception.
“We took a team of 13 milkers to this year’s dairy week,” Matt said.
“We usually select the cows on their general make-up. We’re looking for a balanced cow that’s not too extreme anywhere. No cow is perfect. It’s trying to have that cow with the least number of faults.”
“We’re also trying to show our cows that are most profitable. It’s all about functionality,” Nicola said.
Once Matt and Nicola have chosen their preferred cows for IDW, these cows are separated from the main herd after calving.
“We feed them a special diet of their own grain mix,” Matt said.
“I start that about two months before dairy week. Showing is not a cheap exercise, so you have to make it worth it.”
Accurate herd recording data underpins many of their herd decisions and is an invaluable tool.
“We herd test every month. The only months we sometimes miss are January and June,” Matt said.
The data they get then informs their strategies going forward.
“Data is irreplaceable. It’s a pain to do, but when you get the results, it sorts it out. It’s there in black and white,” Nicola said.
“Because we do it monthly, it paints a good picture.”
They always keep an eye on their BMCC, and respond to any changes early.
“If we’re creeping up to 100 we know there’s a cow or two that has issues and we react,” Matt said.
“I’d recommend herd testing at least every second month. Otherwise, you fly blind.”
Regular monitoring helps keep track of the cows and makes sure nothing slips past.
“There’s just no other way to know what’s really going on,” Nicola said.
They don’t have many mastitis cases in their herd, and the few they do have are usually due to environmental causes. Matt and Nicola feel that genetics also has a part to play in their low rates of mastitis.
“It’s part of the breeding. It’s hereditary,” Matt said.
“If a cow’s udder and uterus are healthy, you’re a long way in front.”
Within their business, Matt and Nicola’s main passion lies in genetics. In addition to gathering regular data, they also focus on genomics.
“In the last three or four years we’ve seen an improvement in the overall herd genetics. Genomics has been an invaluable tool with our breeding,” Matt said.
“As the reliability has increased as more animals have gone into the system, you’d be silly not to use it as a tool,” Nicola said.
When selecting specific bulls, Matt and Nicola focus on only a small number of traits. Fertility/daughter pregnancy rate and mastitis resistance — along with high protein and fat percentage — are usually what they look for most in a bull.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a bull that’s going to tick every box,” Nicola said.
“Sometimes you just have to look at them and pick out the most important traits. We don’t choose 50 bulls. We have a team of four that all have really good attributes.
“The indicators are becoming more reliable, and we take this into account when selecting bulls. It makes an impact on your bottom line.”
But the biggest reward for the Templetons is knowing that the systems they have in place are successful.
“We try and look after our cows and make sure they’re healthy,” Nicola said.
“We’ve moved away from using blanket dry cow and started to use teat seals on everything. This comes back to cell count. There’s no point in us pumping antibiotics into a cow with a cell count of six.”
They are also not afraid to trial different methods and are proactive when it comes to improving their milk quality.
“We’re definitely not perfect but we’re always trying to improve things,” Nicola said.
“For example, we put in lightweight cups. It doesn’t just make it nicer for us to milk, but it also has a positive impact on the cows.
“We have to embrace technology and take the pressure off manual labour.”
“We want to create long term efficiency,” Matt said.
“We’re putting in heat-time collars and are planning on putting in an auto calf feeder.
“We need to look at the whole industry and move with technology and sustainability.”
Another part of the strategy to keeping their cows healthy and their cell counts down is providing adequate feed.
“We try and grow the best feed we can,” Matt said.
“We always try and improve things, while keeping to a budget. You can’t have good cows without having good feed.”
To be able to provide good feed, they renovate their pastures and plant a summer crop most years.
But the biggest change for the Templetons is their plans to reduce the amount of traditional fertilisers they use through soil sampling and maximising their use of effluent.
“It all comes back to sustainability. We shouldn’t have to throw so many chemicals and nitrogen on the grass,” Nicola said.
They have also worked hard to make sure they have a great expert team that helps them make informed decisions on their farm.
“We can’t do everything, so we need sound advice,” Nicola said.
“People try and do everything by themselves and become burnt out. They also get left behind because you can’t be everywhere at once.”