Dale and Karen Angus have seen milk production increase by 18 per cent in the last calendar year at their Ondit farm, but that wasn’t their main focus for the year.
Their primary goals were to reduce costs and improve fertility, and those achievements have been equally impressive.
There has been an eight per cent improvement in fertility following a similar rise the previous year, and they have been able to further reduce debt.
The Anguses have experienced significant improvements during the past 18 months as part of WestVic Dairy’s Focus Farm project, but they were already performing profitably in a low-rainfall area 15 km north of Colac that’s generally considered marginal for dairy.
Dale and Karen can’t attribute their success to any one factor, though keeping a lid on production in favour of reducing costs seems to be at the core.
Over the past 18 months they have improved their irrigation, introduced lead feeding of cows, silage sampling, increased home-grown feed consumption, and introduced genomic testing and cow activity collars.
Boosted by an excellent season, the improved milk production and fertility and better use of home-grown feed have given Dale and Karen plenty of good news to share at their Focus Farm field days.
They have been working closely with farm consultant Paul Groves in “improving the one-percenters”.
“We don’t have the big output figures; our production isn’t massive but we work on cost control to make sure we have a profitable business,” Karen said.
“The Focus Farm has reinforced that it’s not necessarily about chasing more milk out of your cows, it’s about controlling costs.”
Dale says “there’s no point doing silly hours for nothing” and he’s determined to stay on top of things to remain profitable.
“You’ve got to keep your finger on the pulse — know your costs and don’t worry too much about what’s happening over the fence.”
Karen says the success comes from Dale’s commitment to doing as much as possible himself.
“He runs a business,” she said.
“His focus is not about chasing milk, it’s about running a solid business and he does that exceptionally well.”
But that doesn’t mean he’s above learning and improving.
“Becoming a Focus Farm was a chance to learn off others and get help from the farm consultant,” Dale said.
Dale grew up on this farm and returned about eight years ago after working as a builder for 15 years.
He and Karen invested in adjoining land and they started leasing the home farm about five years ago when his parents retired to Lorne.
The expanded farm is 325 ha and they milk about 340 cows, predominantly Friesian, up from about 270 when they took over.
“Friesians suit our farm; they’re able to walk a long way and they’re robust,” Dale said.
“We could probably run a few more but if you don’t get the right season you’re probably in trouble.”
Karen said being a Focus Farm had demonstrated their strength in cost control, though they’ve also achieved other goals along the way, including increasing fertility and decreasing purchased feed and purchased livestock.
Dale and Karen took on the existing herd but needed to buy replacements to reach their desired stocking rate.
Now with improved fertility rates they can maintain numbers.
“We’ve done really well with fertility,” Dale said.
“Last year we were 66 per cent in-calf in six weeks, which was quite a big jump on the previous year, and this year we’re up to 74 per cent.
“We now lead-feed the cows so they’re right to calve and we’ve tweaked things here and there.”
The Focus Farm group includes similar young farmers, those with more experience and experts in their service fields.
Guest speakers touch on topics such as irrigation and silage, leading to more on-farm improvements.
“We were developing irrigation before this but we’ve made a few changes,” Dale said.
Only a small part of the farm near the dairy has irrigation and, while it isn’t likely to expand because they’re on the edge of the aquifer, this adds to business security as evidenced by green pastures in March.
A need to improve on feed costs was identified, resulting in an increase in the use of fertiliser.
“Where previously we bought in hay, the last two years we’ve made our own hay on top of silage,” Karen said.
“We’ve always done silage but hay was a new thing to do on-farm and has certainly helped to decrease costs.
“Our fertiliser costs were considerably below farm averages; even now they are still low but we’re able to grow more grass.”
The introduction of summer crops like rape and millet have been successful and a change from wheat to barley feed has improved fat and protein, with the cows achieving about 500 kg MS.
Genomic testing on one-year-olds is also expected to have long-term benefits and shows all the calves sit above the national average.
Traditionally they use sexed semen on all heifers, but it is hoped genomic testing will allow them to make more targeted decisions to build on the best genetic traits.
“I think it will give more insight as we collect more data over the years,” Karen said.
“When Dale and I started on our own, the focus was on improving fertility and the genetic testing gives us evidence that is happening.
“The results are above where we expected them to be, and we're very happy with that.”
For the first time, Dale and Karen exported 29 heifers in late January.
“One of the reasons for doing genomic testing was to help make decisions on who stays and who goes,” Karen said.
Activity monitor collars have been added, giving Dale “another set of eyes” during AI time as well as helping with workplace health and safety with the addition of an automatic drafting gate.
Changing their calving pattern was discussed in the group but Dale and Karen are sticking with their autumn system.
Heifers start calving the first week in March and cows from about March 20 to, hopefully, coincide with an autumn break.
Dale and Karen plan to buy the home farm when their current loan is paid off.
In the meantime, they will continue to “change the small things that over time will have a big impact”.