Farming conditions in South and West Gippsland remain challenging this season.
The hope is a good four inches of soaking rain for long-term relief into soil and filling dams.
Farming is about risk and reward. For some, this season carries more risk than ever.
However, relying on your personal and professional support team is a great way to reduce the level of risk.
Never underestimate the benefit of getting off the farm for a coffee with a friend. You aren’t alone in this, there are others travelling the same road.
Likewise, your professional team will provide you with good information and support for any on-farm decision making around water and feed.
GippsDairy is busy in the background bringing attention to the water needs in specific locations currently at critical level. Please get in touch if this is you or you are concerned about how much water you have left.
Planning ahead is important. Some farmer information sessions have been held and were valued by those that attended. These will continue to offer support and information to help your on-farm decision making.
Dairy Australia’s Our Farm Our Plan program is a great resource available to all farm businesses.
If you have done it, there are some tools included you may want to revisit from time to time, including the Farm Fitness Checklist.
When goals are met, it’s a great opportunity to celebrate the achievement, it’s also a great opportunity to consider a new goal.
If you haven’t done the program yet it’s available in one-on-one sessions. A consultant will help you to assess and determine opportunities for your farm business. Set goals, consider risks to your business and come up with a plan on a page.
It’s a well-supported program that benefits the future of your farm business. You can register through GippsDairy on 5624 3900 or email info@gippsdairy.com.au
Recently the fourth annual GippsDairy Muster at Federation University was held titled Farming into the Future: Imagine, Inquire, Innovate.
With more than 200 registrations, the room was full of people inquiring about innovations that assist in better decision making.
The program included an update from Dairy Farmers Victoria president Mark Billings on virtual herding for Victoria. The take home is we are as close as we’ve ever been on the back of NSW having passed legislation recently.
[Since writing this, Victoria has moved a step closer to legalised virtual fencing. See the story on page 2 of the national section of this edition of Dairy News Australia.]
We were fortunate to watch prominent consultant John Mulvaney be presented with the 2024 ADIC Outstanding Service Award for his dedicated commitment to the Australian dairy industry.
John was presented his award by Peter Notman and Ben Bennett, chair of Australian Dairy Farmers and chair of the Australian Dairy Industry Council.
John is certainly a worthy recipient and his work throughout Gippsland and beyond has been impactful nationally.
I was heartened to hear John talk highly of the dairy industry as a whole that served him well. John spoke to challenges the industry faced at the start of his career, and even now we still face the same challenges.
It’s a great reminder as we face a drought in Gippsland the overall reward is playing the long game.
The rain will come, the grass will grow again and we can learn from this season how to adapt, adjust and innovate to protect our farm businesses into the future.
– Sarah O’Brien is the GippsDairy chair.