With just 130 cows, Michael and Kim Smith aren’t out to break production records.
But they’ve found a sweet spot when it comes to farming.
Their farm at Bookaar is 10 km north of the Princes Hwy on the northern fringe of the Western District’s dairying region, and is proof that big isn’t always better.
It is one of the northern-most farms in the area but they have been dairying on the land for 20 years and have defied the sceptics who thought they couldn’t make it with such a small herd.
Originally from a grazing and cropping farm, Michael was a stock agent before turning back to farming, this time in dairying.
Kim was originally from a dairy farm and was likewise working for a stock agent when they started the dairy.
“We started with 11 acres on the house block then we bought another hundred acres and then half a dairy farm that had a little old four-a-side double-up dairy and my Mum and Dad gave us 24 cows to start with,” Kim recalls.
The home property is only 81 hectares and over the years they’ve done hay and silage at Michael’s father Geoff’s farm 10 km to the north.
After Geoff sold up three years ago, Michael and Kim invested in a 95-hectare out-paddock at Boorcan for breeding stock and cutting hay and silage.
“We don’t make any hay on the home farm; we cart it all home,” Michael said.
Part of finding the sweet spot was finding the right cows for the land.
About 10 years ago, they changed from Holsteins to British Friesians and couldn’t be happier with the move.
“They’re not as tall as Holsteins, a bit more bone and a bit more muscle. They carry more meat and look after themselves a bit better,” Michael said.
“We don’t produce as many litres but our fat and protein tests are better and that’s what we’re getting paid for.”
“Not only do the British Friesians do more fat and protein, they have better fertility than the Holsteins, and they’re not as big so they don’t eat as much,” Kim said.
“We don’t have a huge amount of land but we can look after them a lot better because they’re not eating us out of house and home.”
When changing, they looked for a moderate-sized cow while wanting to stay with black and whites to capitalise on the successful export heifer market.
“A lot of semen companies have seen the writing on the wall and are coming back to a more medium-framed cow,” Michael said.
“It’s about how they milk, not how they look, and we look for medium frame and place importance on fat and protein and fertility.”
The Smiths are unassuming and usually like to fly under the radar, but there’s obvious pride in their ability to thrive with a small farm.
“I guess it’s fairly amazing what we’ve achieved with 130 cows,” Michael said.
Now in their late 50s, Michael and Kim bemoan their lack of holidays but still enjoy farming as a family unit with help from children Penny and Andrew.
Kim says the new farm has added to their workload but in an enjoyable way.
The Smiths have always followed a “keep it simple” philosophy with farming, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t innovated.
“Because we’re fairly small, we need to keep the milking operation and day-to-day running of the farm really simple,” Michael said.
“That doesn’t mean you don’t move with the times to a certain degree, but you should do what you want to do.”
They traditionally calve once a year from May 1 for nine weeks and have been dabbling in sexed semen over the past two years.
“We expect this coming season with the use of sexed semen about three quarters of the herd will have heifer calves within that nine-week period,” Michael said.
“This is our second season with sexed semen. Since buying the Boorcan property we have been rearing 100 per cent of our calves.
“At the moment it’s a great market and we’re looking for 80 to 90 heifers out of 130 cows.
They admit to getting tougher over the years with cows that don’t get in calf, although there are a few exceptions.
“We only join for nine weeks and anything that’s not in calf gets moved on for fattening,” Michael said.
“It means you bring new genetics into the herd annually.”
The oldest cow in the herd, aged 17, has had a calf every year until this year.
“She’s coming home and she’s going to be the pet,” Kim said.
“She’s been a great cow we can keep special cows.”
Like other farmers in the region, the Smiths are enjoying a bumper season.
“We’ve got plenty of hay and plenty of silage. I expect we’ll have a lot of silage left over,” Michael said.
They plan to milk for another seven or eight years and then consider their future plans.