What an extraordinary year it has been for not only the Murray Dairy region but for Australia and the world as a whole.
We started out our year banding together to rebuild following the devastating bushfire season and then very quickly hurled into the unknown with the COVID-19 pandemic.
But as I continuously see, we have all come together and supported one another through these times and as the newly elected chair of the Murray Dairy Board, I look forward to working closely with our region’s farmers, service providers and the wider dairy industry moving forward.
It is pleasing to see that restrictions have eased on the NSW and Victorian border meaning our dairy industry has begun to experience a sense of normalcy following months of having to adapt to the unprecedented times of COVID-19.
On that note, I’d like to acknowledge everyone across the industry for their resilience, patience and drive over what has been a peculiar year.
While the Murray Dairy region is not without its challenges, particularly this past year, we have been fortunate to have seen an exceptionally good year seasonally and overall, the whole region is enjoying much friendlier climatic conditions.
From a business perspective, a lot of dairy operators will be feeling a lot more confident going forward and the board will continue to focus on what is important to our farmers and our region in this space.
I am very excited to have taken on the role of chair following the Murray Dairy AGM and I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you all. I have more than 30 years of dairy farming experience at Tongala in partnership with my wife, Robyn, and we currently have two sons working in the business. I have spent the past three years as part of the Murray Dairy Board, two of those as co-deputy chairman.
I have held quite a few roles within the dairy industry including my current position as chair of the National Feedbase Systems committee, director of the Australian Dairy Conference Board, a past member of the Dairy Advocacy Reform Team and past chair of Rochester Bamawm Dairy Business Network Group. I look forward to utilising my skills and knowledge for the betterment of our farmers across the Murray Dairy region.
The Murray Dairy team has some exciting times ahead with a number of projects planned that we hope will provide some insight and direction for our farmers and the wider industry. One such project is Fodder for the Future.
This $1.6 million project has been established in response to the rapid change that is currently happening on dairy and cropping farms in the southern Murray-Darling Basin.
Funded through the government’s Murray-Darling Basin Economic Development Fund, five sites are being established to undertake a range of cropping trials designed to support the development of farming systems that optimise the use of both irrigated and dryland fodder across the southern basin and the board is looking forward to continue watching as this three-year project progresses.
Another exciting project I’d like to touch on is the trial program running in Kerang this summer that aims to compare maize and grain sorghum as fodder for silage.
The trial, which has been made possible through funding from Dairy Australia, will evaluate grain sorghum for silage as a potential alternative to maize in the Murray Dairy region by comparing three grain sorghum varieties with long and medium season maize varieties.
Definitely another one to keep an eye on.
Finally, I’d like to wish each of you a very happy and safe festive season. It is hard to believe that the end of 2020 is upon us, and what a year it has been.
Hopefully we can all draw breath and wind back a little over this festive season and reflect on 2020 and what a remarkable year we have experienced. I know in my case this year, many of the small things in life quite often have been the most important.
Thank you to each of you for your continued support for Murray Dairy and I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.
Andrew Tyler
Murray Dairy chair