Volume 31 Number 10 Issue No. 368 October 2016

Pink sets off cancer awareness at DumbalkBRUCE Calder’s mates

told him he would haveto take up knitting after

being advised that he wouldn’tbe able to go to the dairy oncehis cancer treatment started.

And he took them up on theirtongue-in-cheek comments.

He arrived at the DumbalkMG Trading store in SouthGippsland for the monthly bar-becue lunch with some hand-knitted pink beanies and staffmembers had to wear them.

“Bruce has been a greatfriend of the store over manyyears and we couldn’t let himdown so we all wore the bean-ies,” said store manager,Stephen Riley.

“We aren’t sure that Brucedid actually knit the beanies butwe all got into the spirit of theday.”

Last month’s barbecue atDumbalk was part of the Tapexpink silage wrap promotion tosupport cancer research.

The Tapex pink wrap sup-ports breast cancer research andthe blue wrap supports prostatecancer research

Dumbalk MG Trading store team members show off their support for cancer research. From left, George Gilliam, supplier BruceCalder, Stephen Riley (manager) and Art Renden.

MG BACKS MOREPOWER TO FARMERSMURRAY Goulburn is

backing dairy farmersacross Victoria intheir demand for a

better power deal.Dairy farmer organisations,

especially in south west Victoria,want to capitalise on the poten-tial of their industry but claim itis severely hampered by inade-quate electricity supply lines andhigh costs for farmers to upgradethem to required standards.

MG Chairman, Phil Tracy,said MG was supporting thefarmers in their efforts to havethree-phase power available as amatter of urgency.

He said it was vital for thefuture of the dairy industry to

have adequate power at a reason-able price available to all dairyfarmers.

“The modern technologybehind dairy farming businessesrequires and demands betteraccess to an efficient power sys-tem. Currently farmers are beingforced to invest in improvingtheir power service at their owncost when such infrastructure isreadily available to businesses inmajor cities.”

The Wannon branch of theUnited Dairyfarmers of Victoria(UDV) has been a driving forcebehind a campaign to get theState Government to act onpower supply to rural areas.

In a letter to Wannon Shire

Council, the branch also claimsfarmers were being forced topay large sums of cash toupgrade single phase power sys-tems to three phase to operatehigh-output machinery.

Wannon branch President,Craig Dettling, said that whilethe issue was holding back thepotential of agriculture in thesouth west, other areas ofVictoria were also sufferingfrom the lack of adequate powersupplies.

He said the UDV andVictorian Farmer’s Federationconferences this year unani-mously adopted resolutions fromthe Wannon UDV calling for theState Government to prioritise

the issue and fund comprehen-sive upgrades so all dairy farm-ing areas in Victoria were sup-plied with three-phase lines.

Craig, a Murray Goulburn sup-plier from Macarthur, said thatthe Great South Coast region’sdairying interests and its flow-onservice providers were valued atabout $4 billion.

“It delivers a third of theregion’s total economic activityand employs about 15 per centof the workforce.

“Western Victoria suppliesabout a quarter of Australia’smilk and still has huge untappedpotential.

“It is estimated that if dairyingoutput was boosted by 25 per

cent it would add $1 billionannually to the south-west econ-omy.

“However, the ability tocapitalise on that potential isseverely hampered by inadequateelectricity supply lines and highcosts for consumers in upgradingthem to required standards.”

Craig said it appeared thepace of government investmentin this sector had fallen wellbehind the pace of dairy industryexpansion.

“Much has been said in thepast about inadequate road andrail networks, but electrical sup-ply infrastructure barely rates amention,” he said.● TURN TO PAGE 3

OCTOBER 2016 DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN2

The Devondaler is published byDevondale Murray Goulburn.

Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co. Limited,Level 15, 2 SouthbankBoulevard, Southbank, Victoria 3006Phone: (03) 9040 5000

The DevondaleMurray GoulburnTwitter account isonline now at@DevondaleMG

Editor:Robert White (03) 9846 5188or 0427 329 815tophill@optusnet.com.au

Advertising and classifiedenquiries: (03) 9040 5000

MG suppliers and employeesare welcome to submitphotographs and editorial forconsideration. Deadline is the24th of each month.

Printed by Streamline Press,155 Johnston St, Fitzroy

FARMER HEALTH

THE numbness came first,followed by a droopy face.Then his speech became

slurred and then he could nottalk.

A local dairy farmer was hav-ing a stroke and he knew swiftaction was required.

These are the classic symp-toms of stroke which can bedevastating to individuals andtheir families.

The National StrokeFoundation reports one in sixpeople will have a stroke.Behind these numbers are livesbeing affected.

These people are someone’sbrother, sister, husband, wife,son, daughter, father and motherand its Australia’s leading cause

of disability. A stroke happens when the

supply of blood to the brain issuddenly interrupted and it caus-es the death of brain cells.

It can take place either by ablood clot or plaque that blocks

a blood vessel in the brain or ablood vessel in the brain breaksor ruptures.

Sudden loss of speech, weak-ness or paralysis can be symp-toms. Other signs of strokemay include one, or a combina-tion of:

● Weakness or numbness orparalysis of the face, arm or legon either or both sides of thebody.

● Difficulty speaking orunderstanding.

● Dizziness, loss of balance oran unexplained fall.

● Loss of vision, sudden blur-ring or decreased vision in oneor both eyes.

● Headache, usually severeand abrupt onset or unexplained

change in the pattern ofheadaches.

● Difficulty swallowing.The National Stroke

Foundation recommends think-ing and acting fast. This year itsannual awareness campaignlooks at improving response andtreatment times.

Using the F.A.S.T. testinvolves asking these simplequestions:

Face: Check their face. Hastheir mouth drooped?

Arms: Can they lift both arms?Speech: Is their speech

slurred? Do they understandyou?

Time: Is critical. If you seeany of these signs call 000immediately.

Recognising the symptoms ofstroke quickly improves thechance of survival and success-ful rehabilitation.

The key to survival is life-sav-ing drugs that need to be givenwithin a safe treatment windowof four hours.

Sadly, many people miss outas they don’t get to hospital intime and suffer from a disabilitythat affects their independencepermanently.

The take home message is tothink and act fast as this saveslives.

For further information con-tact the Stroke Foundation on1800 787 653 or look up SteveWaugh’s stroke story onYouTube.

FAST action is needed in case of stroke

JEANNE DEKKER

ROBERT WHITE

Justthinkingout loud

Constant criticism is way to self destructionMY wife has been a life-

long supporter ofEssendon. And while the

events of recent years involvingperformance-enhancing drugshave disappointed her, she stillremains loyal.

In fact, she is even more pas-sionate than ever before.

Her argument is that her sup-port is more important todaybecause the club is in trouble.

“We have been through thegood times and we have enjoyedit. You don’t desert the Bombersnow. It’s the club … it’s thecolours. People will change butthe club will always beEssendon,” she says.

I couldn’t help thinking abouthow those words could so easilybe linked to Murray Goulburn.

The co-op is probably at oneof its lowest ebbs since it startedat Cobram 66 years ago. Now isthe time for “supporters” tocome together and back MG, notrun it down or flee to some other“club” that was once the enemy.

Like Essendon, MG has hadits great times. It has alwaysbeen the benchmark with price,and make no mistake, suppliersto other processors have onlyreceived a good milk pricebecause they have had to matchMG.

It was the co-op that got sup-pliers through the 10-yeardrought with financial supportand a strong milk price.

It’s the co-op that will keep

collecting your milk, not likewhat is happening in WesternAustralia where processors aretelling some suppliers that oncetheir contracts are up, they willno longer be collecting milk. Forsome, those contracts finished onSeptember 30 and for others itwill be January next year.

These processors didn’t wantadditional milk so they just saidthe tanker won’t be coming any-more.

In South Australia the situa-tion was similar. The dairy co-opwas lost and the proprietarycompanies took what they want-ed and left the rest.

Without MG crossing the bor-der to Mt Gambier and then intoregions both north and south ofAdelaide, many dairy farmerswould have closed their gates.

And there is more evidence onthe New South Wales coast andcentral areas of the state whereprocessors walked away fromfarmers.

It was MG that became thewhite knight and provided analternative for farmers whofaced oblivion.

The dairy industry is a won-derful industry but it can also beself destructive.

I was particularly drawn to anarticle recently in Stock andLand where John Crosby, formerDairy Authority of SA Managerand National Farmers’Federation Senior VicePresident, took aim at MG.These particular paragraphsangered me.

He said: “MG will be weak-ened further because the currentboard and management has notshown any ability to understandhow to deal with adversity.

“The death spiral has started.Thankfully we do have othercompanies that will pick up themilk and produce profitableincreases in their own productlines.

“We are looking at the carcassof the whale in the dairy indus-try - the carrion will be pickedover by the scavengers who willclean up the rotting flesh.”

How dare he. If that’s not acase of eating one’s own, I don’tknow what is.

This is a person who shouldbe looking after the interests ofdairy farmers, not scaring theminto submission.

Yet the media is littered withconstant criticism. Everyonewants to get on the bandwagon

and before long perceptionbecomes fact.

Is it the tall poppy syndrome?The protection and support for

a co-op like MG is paramount,not just for co-op members butthe Australian dairy industry.

Don’t be fooled. There will beother companies to pick up someMG suppliers but be in no doubt,others will be abandoned and theprices paid will be in the handsof large international companieswho will pay what suits them tomake bigger profits.

Essendon will be a great foot-ball club again. And MG will bea great co-op again. It has beenthrough the down times beforeand has come back bigger andstronger.

But now is not the time towalk away. Think about whatyour co-op has meant to you,your family and dairy farmers ingeneral over the long haul.

It deserves your loyalty.

Farm theft loomsas pressing issue

ON a lonely dirt-road intersec-tion in north west Victoria,

some discarded items hadbeen scattered, left to theelements.

To the casual observer, it wasanother example of disrespect,with someone dumping rubbish.

To Murray Goulburn supplier,

Noel Mitchell, it was a bit more.It was part of the haul thatthieves had thrown away afterstealing his farm utility.

It wasn’t much more than a bitof old poly pipe, a few workhats, a pair of work boots andhis prized Collingwood FootballClub membership tickets amongother things.

But what wasn’t left at thecorner were the valuable itemsof equipment and some old toolsthat were owned by his father-in-law and which had sentimen-tal significance.

The ute was stolen fromNoel’s dairy farm at Lockingtonin northern Victoria in Augustand is an example of the spate ofthefts from farms, both livestockand equipment.

The ute has since been foundbut as Noel said: “It’s sad whenit comes to this. Farms are prettyopen in their operation … theyhave to be,” he said. “It’s notalways possible to lock thingsup tight.”

What Noel is concerned aboutare the tools he has lost.

“The tools were criticalbecause they included virtuallyeverything you need each day todo things from fencing topulling a calf.”

It is now a sad commentaryon social life today. Farmershave enough to worry aboutwithout having to make sureevery lock is bolted.

DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN OCTOBER 2016 3

By ROBERT WHITE

TRIXIE Jeffries has a wordof advice for all dairyfarmers: “Farming is a

good life, but only what youmake it.

“Look after your farm butdon’t get tied to it. If you wantto do something, get away anddo it.”

Trixie has every right to offeradvice. She’s 102 and has beenon the family farm that she andher late husband, Edgar, boughtat Kongwak in South Gippslandmore than 60 years ago.

She has no intention of leav-ing. After all, there is her son,Peter, 70, and grandson, David,41, to look after.

The Jeffries story stands out asone of the great strengths ofdairy farming in Australia … thefamily farm.

It is also a story of coping withsetbacks, yet living life to thefull.

Today, David runs the day-to-day operations of the farm.

“David’s the boss and Peter’sthe Man Friday,” Trixie con-firmed.

There was a mischievoussparkle in her eye when she saidthat. At 102, you can get awaywith anything.

Trixie is one of 10 children butshe and her youngest sister arethose who remain.

“I’m No. 5,” Trixie proudlyproclaims.

The Jeffries’ story starts soonafter Trixie and Edgar were mar-ried and they operated theWonthaggi Cordial Factory.

The factory provided cordialfor the coal miners of Wonthaggiand Trixie recalled how theywould fill a row-boat with boxesof cordial and paddle across theinlet from San Remo to PhillipIsland before the bridge wasbuilt.

“That was what you had to do.You had customers. That was thebusiness.”

Trixie can’t quite rememberwhy they decided to own a cor-dial factory but they sold it in1945 and bought a farm at GlenAlvie, not far from the currentproperty at Kongwak.

Peter said: “Dad really lovedthe land so he thought theyshould give dairying a go. Butthe farm was too big and he hada bad back from his days in thecordial factory.”

At 102, Trixie knows a bit about farming

At age 102, Trixie Jeffries still knows what’s happening on the family dairy farm at Kongwak in South Gippsland. She is pictured withher son, Peter, and Grandson, David.

The Glen Alvie farm was soldand the smaller operation atKongwak proved ideal as thefamily milked about 30 cowsand ran a few pigs.

Peter was 21 when his fatherdied so he and Trixie set aboutrunning the farm.

Peter’s sister, Marjorie, hadworked on the farm with herfather for a number of yearsbefore she got married and thatleft the farm position open forPeter.

“I left school when I wasabout 15 and worked for Mumand Dad and we had about 70cows,” Peter said.

But he admitted he wasn’tready to take over the day-to-daymanagement when his fatherdied suddenly.

“I was still hooning around atthat time, like most youngblokes did. But I had to change

pretty quickly,” he said.Trixie kept a close rein on the

finances but she was alwaysavailable to help in the shed.

“I milked them by hand at thestart and then we got the milk-ing machines. What an amazingthing they were,” she said.

Peter married Glenda and theyhad a son David. But by thetime David was only eight, hismother died of an illness andTrixie stepped in, taking overthe role of grandma and mother,as well as helping on the farm.

“You just do it. It was a verysad time but life goes on,” saidTrixie.

Trixie recalls how the familysupplied the Kongwak ButterFactory with milk cans that werecollected from their front gatebefore going into bulk milk.

“We had to put wet hessianbags over the cans on a hot day

and it could be two hours beforethey were picked up. And youknow what, no-one ever gotsick.”

David’s return to the farm hasresulted in big changes andexpansion. The original farmwas about 40ha but now covers144ha and the family milks 150cows through a relatively new10-unit double-up shed.

David originally left schooland worked in the retail industrybefore returning to the farm.

He needed the break and thechance to work in the outdoors.

“I don’t know that it was mygoal to come back to the farmbut when the opportunity cameup, I knew it was right,” he said.

David and his wife, Belinda,who is a nurse, have two daugh-ters, Tahlia, 7, and Mikayla, 4,and Trixie is already predictingthat Tahlia will be the one tocarry on the family line in dairy-ing at Kongwak.

“She loves the cows and theylove her. She’s like her dad … areal natural.”

Peter is on hand for milking atboth sessions and still enjoys theinvolvement.

“I milked by myself for about18 years and it was hard work soI am happy to give David ahand,” he said.

Trixie earns her keep andthat’s the way she like it. Shegets Peter his nightly meal (shedoes have a couple of nights off)and his breakfast is waiting forhim when he returns from morn-ing milking.

She is also keen to knowabout the cows, how manyheifers were born this seasonand likes to know of any newplans.

The only thing holding herback at present is the conditionof one of her hips. She did havea replacement when she was 78but she has outlived it.

When she was 98 she had theother hip replaced and is nowconsidering whether she shouldhave the original replacementreplaced.

“I feel fit enough. And any-way, if I should pass on duringthe operation, I’ve had a prettygood life.

“But I could have a better oneif I can get the surgeons to fixmy bad hip.”

Look after your farm but don’tget tied to it. If you want to dosomething, get away and do it.

TRIXIE JEFFRIES

● FROM PAGE 1

“Major portions of the south-west and other regions across thestate have only low-capacity sin-gle-phase Single Wire EarthReturn (SWER) lines which arebarely adequate for domesticuses.

“SWER lines are also a bush-fire risk as highlighted in theBlack Saturday RoyalCommission.

“Dairy and horticultural farm-ers and other rural businessoperators are forced to pay largebills, often hundreds of thou-sands of dollars, to have supplyupgraded to three-phase which isrequired to operate high-outputmachinery.

“There remains uncertainty onsupply reliability in an industrywhere continuity is critical.”

Craig said dairies must havereliable power for heating and

cooling milk to meet qualitystandards.

“There are also animal welfareissues with power outages. Thisis a serious impediment to tak-ing advantage of the region’spotential in farming and process-ing.”

Craig said a policy reform wasrequired and infrastructureupgrades introduced so regionalareas enjoyed the same reliabili-ty and capacity as urban areas

without a price premium for aservice that urban residents takefor granted.

“Power companies in recentyears upgraded major networkinfrastructure across the nation,but many rural areas seem tohave been overlooked apart fromcopping higher electricity tar-iffs,” he said.

Craig said one dairy farmernear Portland had to buy twothree-phase generators after find-

ing his $35,000 outlay toupgrade the SWER line supplywas inadequate.

“Ironically in relative closeproximity is one of Australia’shighest capacity supply linesserving the Portland smelter, butit cannot be accessed for ordi-nary consumer needs.

“What is needed is immediategovernment action rather thanhollow long-term strategies,”Craig said.

MG backs farmer bid for better power supply

DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN OCTOBER 2016 5

Retirementbeckons fordairy coupleBy ROBERT WHITE

DAIRY farming has beenArthur Mullins’ life. Andit has stretched from

Ireland to New Zealand and forthe past 20 years, the openspaces of Victoria at Minhamite,just south of Hamilton in southwest Victoria.

He has worked in a number ofdifferent occupations but in theend, it all came back to farming.

“I guess it’s always been inmy blood to be a dairy farmer,”he said.

But now, having turned 70,Arthur thinks it might be time toretire. His wife, Marilyn, hassimilar thoughts.

The couple is now milkingaround 150 cows on their 240haproperty with a further 120harun-off block.

They started out with 200cows in a 14-unit swingovershed.

“We still like what we do butwe want to explore other thingsnow,” Arthur said. “We are look-ing to sell and while it will bequite a break, the time hascome.”

And there is every reason whyit will be difficult to make thebreak as the Johnsons haveestablished an outstanding farm.

They have been painstaking inthe lay-out and pasture develop-ment and the dairy is a 34-a-sideswingover. It has been designedwith space for an additional sixunits either side but Arthur has-n’t yet seen the need to add theadditional equipment.

It was built to cater for the 430cows they milked until about 18months ago when they decidedto do the work themselves after along-serving employee left.

“If and when we do sell, Ihope it stays as a dairy farm.Everything is here. We’ve gotgood tracks, calf sheds and itnow has a very good fertiliserhistory, It deserves to stay as adairy.”

Arthur’s story goes back toIreland where he was born andbrought up with two siblings.When his mother died, his fatherdecided to move to New Zealandwhere there were more familymembers to help him raise histhree young children.

“I was nine at the time and itwas a very big thing for myfather to do as he was well set-tled in Ireland but he neededhelp and he made the move forhis children,” said Arthur.

In New Zealand, his extendedfamily was involved in dairyfarming and as he grew up,Arthur’s interest in dairyinggrew stronger.

Arthur and Marilyn Mullins are considering retirement from their dairy farm at Minahmite in southwest Victoria.

He mixed helping out on thefarms with work as a fitterwelder.

“I would often have to laypipes across large areas of agri-cultural land and I would alwayskeep an eye on what a farmerwas doing, what pasture he wasgrowing, the soils they had andany other ideas they mighthave,” Arthur said.

He met Marilyn, who was anurse, and the couple were ableto buy dairy farms of their own,milking more than 240 cows.

With land prices peaking inNew Zealand, they decided tosell up just over 20 years agoand they took a 12 month breakbefore deciding what their nextmove might be.

It came after a visit toAustralia where they caught upwith fellow Kiwi farmers whoshowed them properties in thesouth west of Victoria.

They weren’t intending to buybut they looked at a couple ofproperties out of interest.

Then a farm at Minhamitecaught Arthur’s eye. It was alarge property, it was relativelycheap, especially when com-pared to land in New Zealandand he liked the soils.

It was here that his interest inpastures and soils while buildingpipelines was to bear fruit.

The fact that Minhamite wasnot regarded as a traditionaldairying region didn’t phaseArthur.

The farm had been milkingcows for 90 years before he putin his offer to buy, so he knew ithad the history to be a successfuloperation. And there was land,and plenty of it.

“There were things we had toadjust to. In New Zealand wehad an 80 inch rainfall and thegrass grew pretty much all yearround. Here it can get pretty drybut we have been able to get thefeed we need.”

He expects to cut more thanthe normal 1500 tonnes of hayand silage this season.

Apart from the dairy cows, thecouple also run a small beefherd, while the outblock is usedfor dry cows and hay and silage.

“The plan will be to move tothe outblock and still run a fewcattle,” Arthur said.

“And I don’t ever see us astownies,” Marilyn added.

Arthur said: “I have alwaysloved working with cattle. I canrecall my dad taking me to thesaleyards when I was just a boyand I guess I was hooked fromthat time.”

Arthur and Marilyn have threechildren, Theresa, 46, Jolene, 42and Shaun, 37.

OCTOBER 2016 DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN6

One-on-onefarm healthchecksavailableA SERIES of one-on-onesessions with experienceddairy advisors are beingoffered free to dairy farmersas part of Dairy Australia’sTactics for Tight Times cam-paign.

Taking Stock is available toall dairy farmers in Victoria,South Australia, Tasmania andNew South Wales.

The campaign and is proudlysupported by the GardinerFoundation, the AustralianGovernment, the SouthAustralian Government, theTasmanian Government andmajor dairy processors.

Taking Stock sessions areconfidential and delivered bytrained industry advisors tohelp farm families workthrough key management deci-sions and identify supportavailable to manage theirbusinesses through challengingtimes.

Advisors work with keymembers of the farm team overthe kitchen table to supportfinancial and physical analysisof their operation and facilitatediscussions regarding the cur-rent business position, futureoptions and an action plan forthe business.

Dairy Australia’s GroupManager Farm Profit andCapability, Chris Murphy, saidthe offer of free one-on-oneassistance through the TakingStock program was in responseto farmer requests.

“The strength of TakingStock is that it is based on aone-to-one conversation with atrusted, skilled advisor.

“It gives the opportunity totake time out from the businessfor three or four hours andhave a meaningful discussionabout the current situationand plans for the future,” hesaid.

The financial and physicalanalysis Taking Stock offersincludes:• Understanding and managing

your budget.• Identifying cost-savingoptions.• Calculating pasture con-sumption.• Managing debt and yourbalance sheet.• Understanding additionalsupport services that can beaccessed, including counsellingand health services• Creating an action plan.

If you are interested in takingup the opportunity to do TakingStock program, call yourRegional DevelopmentProgram.

Click ‘contact us’ atdairyaustralia.com.au fordetails.

Generations of learning

The three dairy generations from Bete Belong, near Orbost ... Tom, Tony and Ginger.

By SUE WEBSTER

THE combined 157 years ofthree generations doesn’tmean the Johnson and

Osborn dairying families of BeteBolong can’t keep learningsomething.

Only last season they discov-ered that a few paddocks of theirhighly-fertile river flat country atBete Bolong could produce twomaize crops in a season.

Grandfather Ginger Johnson81, said: “Our first crop wasplanted in May last year. Thesecond was planted middle ofSeptember and it was ready tocut in the last week in January.

Son-in-law Tony Osbornadded: “We thought, ‘well, theground’s already worked up’, sowe put it back in. It was in with-in three days.”

Would they do that again?‘Yep,” they said in unison.

Quick as a flash. The East Gippsland farming

family thinks, talks and works asa single unit. And now thatgrandson, Tom, 20, has comeback to the place as a share-farmer, a few things have startedto change.

For the first time in theproperty’s 104-year familyhistory, it is now home to aHolstein stud. Tom has about 25cows in his Kuna Kuna studwhere he breeds moderate-sizedcows with good production andgood feet and legs.

He hopes to grow the stud andget a bit of flushing and embryowork. His holidays are usuallyspent following the breed showsand International Dairy Week.

He’s also keen to install arotary to replace the two-person,20-a-side swingover herring-bone. And he wants to changethe farm’s tradition of milkingempties through.

His dad, Tony, explained:“Some people call it extendedlactation but the rest of us call it‘they-were-empty-so-we’ll-join-them-next-time’”.

Tom continued the conversa-tion: “We’ve usually got a bit ofcrop or pasture we can feedthem to milk them through to thewinter. But I hope to get out ofthat and dry them off for sixweeks completely. I just thinkthe farm needs a rest.”

He would probably choose torun a smaller herd to grow morefeed.

“I’d like them to carry condi-tion a lot longer,” he added.

So, how do the two olderblokes get their heads aroundTom’s plans?

Tony said: “We meet togetherand talk about it.”

Ginger quickly added: “Wedon’t always agree…”

And Tom replied: “Does any-one ever all agree in business?”

Tony puts the matter to rest bysaying: “You have Ginger’s ideasat his age, and mine at my ageand you have a younger personcoming in with his.

“We’re not reinventing the

wheel. It’s still round. It wasround when Ginger was bornand it’s still round with Tom inthe job.”

And he notes that change is nostranger to the farm, which wasused to grow broccoli, beans andpeas until the cows came in 25years ago.

Tony recalled: “We thenmilked 200 cows and you werehappy if they did 4500 litres ayear.”

Ginger had combined fourfarms to form the landholding,creating a squarish blocktotalling 150ha with another400ha just over the river, plusleased country at Cann Riverand Nungurner.

This leased run-off is home tothe dries and calves plus about700 beef cattle. Ginger has alsobeen a stock agent for 53 years.

The home farm has a herd of320-340 spring calvers, mostlyHolstein Friesian with someJersey cross breeds. Tom, helped

by Ginger, rears about 100heifers a year.

The herd averages 26-27 litresat about 4.7 fat and 3.5 proteinoff 1.4 to 1.6 tonne/cow/year ofsupplementary feed of pelletsalong with grain sourced fromnearby farmer John Richardson,as well as pasture, green chopmaize and lucerne silage. Theshow cows also get cereal hay.

Tony said: “We usually geteight to 10 cuts of wrappedlucerne silage in a normal sea-son. And we grow a lot ofmaize, about 16ha, every year.”

They also do brassicas as asummer crop and have also tri-alled millet, sorghum and pasja.

“All of them will grow. It’sjust what’s best for our situa-tion,” said Tony.

“The green chop is so simple.We have the water and if it lookslike it’s going to struggle, wecan water it.”

They installed a four-pointcentre pivot about 15 years agocovering about 18ha, but haven’tused it in the last few years.

Last year the five megalitredouble-pond effluent system wassludge-drained

“It’s the first time in 22 years.We’ve got alluvial soil where itsoaks away all the time,” saidGinger.

About 15 per cent of farm getsrenovated annually.

While the farm lies in a rivervalley, it is protected from win-ter floods by a levee and adrainage system to handle winterflows.

There are eight farms insidethe flood levee banks that weremade using horses and scoopsand finished in 1934.

Ginger was born “just up theroad’, the grandson of the origi-nal 1912 settler.

“My mother was a Richardsonand they were one of the firstsettlers in Orbost and they had asawmill.”

Son-in-law Tony was raisedon a Mornington Peninsula dairyfarm at Main Ridge. His motherand Ginger’s wife Helen hadbeen at school together atBairnsdale.

“I came here for a week tobreak in some show cows forGinger and his wife and I prettymuch have been here eversince.”

He married their daughterSam, who is a nurse, and thecouple had three boys: Tim,Lachie, who is doing VCE andTom, who completed someNCDE training while at second-ary school and, after a short stintworking at Leongatha, returnedhome to milk cows.

Ginger notes that, with Tomon board, the issue of unreliablestaffing has vanished “becauseTom’s taken a lot of respon-sibility.”

“And reliability too,” Tonyadded. “Continuity as well.We’re looking like we’re goingto go to 340-350 cows this yearso we’re going to need that reli-ability to do it.”

What’s it like having a youngbloke who wants to keep thefarm going?

Tony replied: “I think that’sexcellent, so long as it’s what hewants to do. That’s what it’sabout, the next generation. Butthey’ve got to want to do itbecause it was their dream, notyour’s.”

We’re not rein-venting thewheel. It’s stillround. It wasround whenGinger was bornand it’s stillround with Tomin the job.

TONY OSBORN

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OCTOBER 2016 DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN8

Martin’s co-op passion continuesTHE level of disappointment

in losing his position onthe Murray Goulburn

Board is starting to subside forMartin Van de Wouw.

And while the loss did hithard, he has no lingering hardfeelings and remains committedto MG and the farmers whohave made the co-operative theleading dairy company inAustralia.

Following the annual meetingin October, he will return to thefarm at Timboon in south westVictoria and resume the life hehad six years ago before he wasan MG Director.

Martin, 60, respects the will ofthe suppliers in the WesternRegion and says that voting forsupplier directors remains astrong democratic process withinthe co-op.

He said the past four monthshad not been easy on all associ-ated with MG but he stillremained confident that thestrategy the Board had undertak-en would be proven to be theright one.

“Our move into value-addedproducts has been a successstory,” Martin said.

“The markets are down at themoment but we have to look tothe long term.

“We have been caught up in aglobal fall in prices and it’simportant to understand that.This is a world crisis, not just anMG crisis.

“Just the same, we didn’t han-dle things well as we shouldhave done.”

Martin said now was the timefor suppliers to remain strongand back the co-op.

“It will turn around, it alwaysdoes. International prices areshowing signs of turning aroundand world milk production isfalling.

“But I know that we now havea lot of work to do to re-build

our reputation and the trust ofour suppliers.”

The co-operative ethos hasbeen part of the Van de WouwDNA for generations.

Martin recalls how his grand-father and father were leadingplayers in co-ops in Holland andhe grew up with the co-op cul-ture and the importance of work-ing together for the commongood.

Martin’s decision to stand fora seat on the MG Board cameafter a long apprenticeship indairy organisations including theUnited Dairyfarmers of Victoriaand WestVic Dairy.

“I have always been a strongbeliever in the dairy industry andeverything I have tackled I have

done at 100 per cent.“I had a strong belief when I

stood for the Board that I couldmake a difference and play arole in the long term success ofMG,” Martin said.

“We have done a lot of verygood things in my time on theBoard and it’s easy to be criticalof the events of the past fewmonths and lose track of all thegood things that have beendone.

“We have made some veryimportant strategic decisionsand I believe our move into theliquid milk market and ourdeal with Coles will prove tobe a great benefit to thecompany.”

The farm will now be Martin’s

major focus. He and his partner,Genevieve Rounds, will look todevelop new projects and runthe dairy business to its fullpotential.

“Genevieve has been very sup-portive right from the start andespecially so over the recentmonths,” he said.

“It is important for anyDirector of a company like MGto have support at home becausethere is a lot of time away on co-op business. The farm still has tooperate and decisions have to bemade.”

He also thanked the suppliers,not only of his own region, butthroughout MG for their supportover his six years.

“I love the region I representbut when you are elected to theBoard you can’t afford to beparochial.

“I have always looked atwhat’s best for the co-op as awhole and not necessarilywhether it’s good for my region.

We are a co-op so that meansyou represent all of MG’sfarmers.”

He congratulated all four newDirectors and urged them tobecome team players.

“Be prepared to make deci-sions but also be prepared tochallenge the rationale behinddecisions, not just the figuresthat are presented.

“Be satisfied that things can’tbe done any other way and thatother measures have beenexplored before making a finaldecision,” he advised the newDirectors.

He said now was the time tostop the blame game and sticktogether.

“People have forgotten that weremain a strong co-op with astrong balance sheet and wewill get through this currentsituation.”

“I remain confident about thefuture. I can’t remember anyother time when there has beena downturn in dairy where theseason has been so good andprices for chopper animals havebeen so high,” he said.

“Grain prices are comingdown and fertiliser prices arealso heading down and the rainhas meant there is grass in thepaddocks,” he said.

“We have the chance torebound and I plan to nowfocus on my own farmingbusiness. I’m not ready to donothing.”

Martin said in his six-yearjourney as a Director he hadmade a lot of friends along theway and he thanked them fortheir ongoing support.

“I wish the incoming Boardall the best and encourage themto take on all the challenges thatare before them.

“MG is a lot bigger than meand now is the time for our newDirectors to take the co-op for-ward,” Martin said.

Martin Van de Wouw, left, with supplier, Jarrod Meade duringasupplier tour of the Devondale Beverage Centre at Laverton lastyear.

I have alwayslooked atwhat’s best forthe co-op as awhole and notnecessarilywhether it’sgood for myregion. We area co-op so thatmeans you rep-resent all ofMG’s farmers.

MARTINVAN DE WOUW

DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN OCTOBER 2016 9

RETIRING Director, JohnPye, has urged suppliers toremain loyal to the co-

operative for the good of MurrayGoulburn as well as the industry.

“If we don’t retain a strongdairy co-operative the fate of theindustry will be in the hands ofmulti-nationals and it’s impor-tant for farmers to reflect onwhat the dairy industry would belike without MG,” he said.

John is standing down at thismonth’s MG annual meetingafter 11 years as a Director. Hedid not contest the AugustWestern Region elections as hewas ineligible because of thetime he had already served onthe Board.

“I think the events that are cur-rently occurring in WesternAustralia are a perfect exampleof what the future may holdwithout a co-op holding theindustry together.

“Four farmers had signed twoyear contracts with a multi-national company that no longerwants their milk. So those farm-ers have been told their milk willnot be collected after 30September.

“Five other farmers willsuffer the same fate in January.And there is nowhere else forthem to go.

“That would not happen with aco-op such as MG. Once youbecome a supplier we will pickyou up and then find a way touse the milk for manufacture.”

John’s comments follow therecent milk price cut by MG andother milk processing companieswhich has seen a number of MGfarmers move to other proces-sors.

“There is no arguing that weas a Board and MG managementdidn’t handle things as well as

MG success is crucial for dairyingTWO of MurrayGoulburn’s long-servingDirectors, John Pye andMartin Van de Wouw,(opposite) will stand downat this month’s annualmeeting. Editor, ROBERTWhite, caught up withthem as they recalled theevents of the past and thehopes for the future.

we should have but it must beremembered that for 12 monthsthe co-op protected the industryfrom an earlier downturn.

“But we’ve been caught outand we acknowledge that,” hesaid.

But now he fears the multi-nationals are at MG’s throat andwon’t be happy until the co-op isforced out of the industry.

“It would be easy for themulti-nationals to do thatbecause they have the financialhorsepower behind them.

“They would also be in a posi-tion to pay whatever price formilk that suited them becausethey would not have a co-op set-ting the benchmark price,whether that was good or bad,”John said.

Leaving the Board table willnot change John’s passion forthe co-operative ideal.

“It’s too important toAustralia. If people stay loyal toMG, the quicker we will recov-er.”

John, 64, joined the MG Boardafter serving dairy organisationssuch as the United DairyFarmers of Victoria and theVictorian Farmers’ Federation.

“Those organisations have arole in advocacy for the dairyindustry but I knew that MG wasthe key to the future of theAustralian industry and Ibelieved I could make a differ-ence if I was on the Board.

“I believed then that the farm-ers’ best interests were served bya co-op and I still do.”

He said he had seen remark-able development in the co-opover the past five years includingexploiting new business opportu-nities internationally and domes-tically.

“But we shouldn’t forget theefforts of former Directors andsenior management for theongoing development of thebusiness and especially for theability to keep the businessprofitable during the milleniumdrought.

“I’m proud of the fact that wewere able to put in processesthat enabled many of oursuppliers to survive and continuefarming.”

John was one of the key driv-ers behind the establishment ofthe Suppliers DevelopmentProgram (SDP) which gave sup-pliers a greater insight into the

John Pye stands down from the MG Board after 11 years ofservice.

operation and complexities ofthe co-op.

“The feedback is clear that ithas been a successful projectand suppliers who have under-taken the SDP have a far betterunderstanding of how their co-op operates,” he said.

“This can only be good for thefuture of the company and I amsure it will provide the initiativefor suppliers to take on the roleof Director in future. We alreadyhave some examples of this hap-pening.”

John also believes MG’sinvolvement in the domesticfresh milk market will pay bigdividends in the future.

“It was a very positive movegetting into the domestic milk

market and we are getting verygood returns,” he said.

“We had an opportunity tosign a 10-year deal with Colesand I believe this has helped off-set some of our export losses.

“We are also getting ourDevondale branded productsback on supermarket shelves andthis is vital for our future.”

John said he didn’t like the $1a litre sales of fresh milk butadded that Coles could still sellthe milk for 80 cents a litre andMG would still make a prof-itable return.

John urged the new Directorsto undertake all the training theycould to ensure they were readyto take on a responsible andchallenging role.

“The new Directors have anenormous task ahead of themwith the demands now placed onthem, especially with legalissues and corporate gover-nance.”

John said that all the Directorshe had worked with over theyears had worked in the bestinterests of the co-op and itssuppliers.

“All had different charactersbut all were there for the onecommon cause … to build theco-op for the benefit of ourfarmers.”

He paid special tribute to for-mer Director, John Vardy, whodied recently.

“John was a good friend andwe had some wonderful times.He was unique in his ability tokeep everyone together.”

John said this was one of thechallenges for the new Board.

“Directors should have theirown opinions but once a deci-sion is made, they must all abideby it.

“Corporate governance is soessential and everyone at theBoard table must have trust ineach other.”

John and his wife, Naomi,have now moved off the familyfarm at Bessiebelle in south westVictoria and live at Portland.

Daughter, Melissa, and son-in-law, Will McDonald, are now incharge of the farm, milkingmore than 500 cows.

John paid tribute to Naomi forher support over the years andsays she virtually brought uptheir children, Melissa, 36,Felicity, 33, Jeremy, 30, andDomenic, 19, on her own whilehe was away on MG business.

“You can’t do this job onyour own. You must have sup-port at home and Naomi hasalways been my best supporter,”John said.

Apart from an ongoing inter-est in the farm, John has taken akey role with the PortlandRotary Club in encouragingyoung people into agriculturewith a youth program that hasseen the establishment of schol-arships and the development ofan agricultural program atHeywood High School.

He said it was sad to leave theBoard but the time had come.

“I have run my race. It’s up toa new group to take MG into thefuture.”

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DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN OCTOBER 2016 11

When the heat is on, light show flashesMURRAY Goulburn sup-

pliers, Craig and DebAllott, are third-genera-

tion dairy farmers who sharefarm with their daughter andson-in-law on the family proper-ty at Hazel Park in SouthGippsland.

During this autumn’s joiningprogram, they used theFlashmate electronic heatdetector from Gallagher for thefirst time and haven’t lookedback.

Flashmate is an electronic heatdetection device that monitorsriding activity in dairy cows towork out when an animal is instanding heat.

It looks for specific patterns ofriding/mounting by other cows -such as frequency, amount andduration of activity – and flashesred to indicate when a cow isready for AI.

If the cow doesn’t come backinto heat within 25 days of beingAI’d, the Flashmate will flashgreen to indicate a possible con-ception.

In the past, Craig has used tra-ditional methods for detectingheats before but with mixedresults.

“In the past we’ve used tail-paint and tried scratchies too,which have not been really suc-

Craig Allott says Flashmate has taken the guesswork of detectingcows on heat.

cessful,” he said. “The cows will find trees

across the property that they canhave a scratch against and that’sgiven us false readings.

“Likewise tail-paint is okaybut sometimes you can’t reallytell if the cow is definitely ‘on’and ready for AI.”

This has meant that someonewith Craig’s skill and expertisehas always had to be presentduring milking times to beable to recognise the patternsof when a cow is in standingheat.

“A problem we had beforewas that cows brought in formilking might have been let gofrom the shed and put back outinto the paddock before we’vehad the chance to properly IDwhich ones were in heat,” Craigsaid.

The main reason Craig saysthey chose Flashmate wasgreater ease and efficiency incorrectly identifying cows thatare in heat.

“I did consider they’re a bitmore expensive than otheroptions out there but if you’repicking out more cows – andmore accurately, more easily andfaster too – then that helps tobalance the cost.

Having applied Flashmates to

150 of his herd, two or threedays passed before the first onewas activated.

“As soon as the Flashmate wason though, it was very easy tosee and that made it a bit excit-ing,” Craig said.

“Within about a month, youcould look across the farm at acertain paddock at night andthere were green and red flashesflickering all over the place.

“ It was just like a light showin the paddock and quite inter-esting to see.”

That same light showenabled Craig and other dairyworkers to see exactly whichcows were responding to the AIprogram.

“The milkers can actuallyidentify the cows without need-ing someone who’s got a lot ofexpertise in knowing the cyclepatterns to watch out for,” Craigsaid.

“The Flashmate allows any-body to tell what’s going on, soit’s saving us time and effortand cutting out the guessworkfrom other methods we’ve usedin the past.

“It has definitely made life alot simpler.

“I’m looking forward tousing it again this spring joiningperiod too.”

OCTOBER 2016 DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN12

Lessons from the past a valuable asset

It’s 15 years since Ben Elliot and Don McPhee sat under a tree and talked about a future life as adairy farmer. Now Ben, 30, milks more than 500 cows and 87-year-old Don never misses thechance to see how his young dairy “student” is going.

Flashback to the front page of the Devondaler in April 2001 when Ben Elliot was a 15-year-oldlearning from his mentor, Don McPhee.

Ben Elliot’s two-year-old niece, Alisha, could be next to follow adairy farming path.

By ROBERT WHITE

ON one side of the fencestood Don McPhee andBen Elliot. On the other

side were a group of excitedeight-week-old pure bred Jerseyheifers.

“They look pretty good.You’ve really got them in greatcondition,” said Don.

Ben was a little bit more cir-cumspect, perhaps a bit embar-rassed by the compliment he hadjust received.

“Oh, I think they’ve still got along way to go,” he replied.

This was the meeting of twominds. Mentor, Don McPhee,87, and 30-year-old Ben.

I first met the man and boy 15years ago at Ben’s parents’ farmat Nilma North in WestGippsland.

Frank and Janice Elliot haveoperated a dairy farm next doorto Don for many years and overthat time they have developed astrong bond.

Ben knew he was going to bea dairy farmer before he turned10 years of age and Don couldsee in his young neighbor thebeginnings of a dairy farmer andstud breeder of the future.

Don gave Ben a couple ofheifers to boost his interest andby the time he was 12 Don hadhanded over a few more and Benhad his own little stud registeredand up and running.

Today, Don still farms with his

son, Glenn and his partner,Cindy Day.

“We’ve still got the Jerseys.Glenn drives down from nearbyShady Creek every day and hekeeps the farm immaculate,”said Don.

Proudly, Don said he still putsthe cups on the cows when need-ed and he has the role of teach-ing the calves how to drink.

“I’m still a Jersey breeder,and proud of it, although it’simportant to say that a good cowis a good cow, no matter whatbreed.

“I want to keep going for awhile yet. I’m not going into oneof those old people’s homes andplay bingo every day. I’d soonerdie under a cow.”

For the then 15-year-old who

followed Don around thefarm like a new-born heiferchasing its mother, much haschanged.

Ben has achieved the first partof his dream in dairying and isnow sharefarming with theCuthbertson family at Jindivick

in West Gippsland.One day he would love to

own his own operation.His outstanding performance

as a manager and a dairy manhas seen the Cuthbertson familymerge two of their farms intoone and Ben now has the respon-sibility for 360ha on which hemilks more than 500 cows, withthe help of full-time worker,Steve Ecott, through a 50-unitrotary shed.

Don catches up with Benwhenever possible (“We remaingood mates”) and continues tobe amazed by what he hasachieved.

“I’m really proud of what hehas done and I really don’t knowhow he has done it.

“But it’s a real credit to Benand his family who have givenhim so much support,” said Don.

“I know that one day he willhave one of the best Jersey studs

around. He knows his cows andhe breeds from the right lines.”

Ben is humble about what hehas achieved and it hasn’t allbeen easy.

The Black Saturday fires in2009 saw his farm under attackand the house and everythingin it was lost, along with themajority of infrastructure suchas fencing and sheds.

The lower milk prices havealso brought the farming opera-tion under scrutiny but heremains confident that thingswill turn around.

For Don, Ben’s success hasgiven him both delight andpride.

“I have given a few heifers toother young people over theyears but Ben has always been abit special.

“I knew from the very startthat dairying was in his blood.He’ll make it alright,” said Don.

I want to keepgoing for a whileyet. I’m not goinginto one of thoseold people’shomes and playbingo every day.I’d sooner dieunder a cow.

DON McPHEE

DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN OCTOBER 2016 13

By ROBERT WHITE

SHAREFARMERS,Andrew McKie and TraceyKay, are proud of their

record of supplying quality milkand they’re not going to let a lit-tle thing like a flood ruin theircell count reputation.

The couple was recentlynamed in the top 100 dairy farm-ers across Australia for their lowBulk Milk Cell Count (BMCC)numbers and they are regularlyin the top bracket in MurrayGoulburn’s factory figures.

They average a count ofbetween 48,000 to 58,000BMCC but the flood that hittheir farm at Cobden in southwest Victoria last month, hasseen figures stretch out to88,000.

For some farmers, the figurewould seem more than accept-able and would more than likelystill have them ranked among thenation’s Top 100.

But Andrew and Tracey arenot happy with the situationand are determined to get backto “normality” as quickly aspossible.

Heavy rain throughout southwest Victoria created havoc foragriculture last month andAndrew and Tracey weren’t theonly dairy farmers affected.

MG suppliers across northernVictoria have also been hit bythe consistent rain with manysuffering flooded paddocks andlaneways which have caused

Floods won’t deter top milk quality couple

Andrew McKie shows how high the Curdies River rose during the peak of a flood last month. Thewater covered the railing of the cattle bridge and tore away concrete walkways.

widespread mastitis issues aswell as inconvenience and exten-sive paddock damage.

“We actually were the luckyones,” Andrew said.

Just the same, when theCurdies River came with a roarthrough the farm, it damagedfencing, laneways, water pipesand gouged out concreted walk-ways leading to new heavy-dutybridges. Gateways were alsowashed away.

Andrew estimates the rivercame up more than three metresabove its normal level.

In a short time, the area avail-able for the cows dropped from180ha to only 10ha.

“We couldn’t get to any morethan those 10ha for three days,”Andrew said.

“You can imagine what dam-age has been done to those pad-docks.I don’t see us getting thecows back on that land for atleast two months, maybemore.”

He said care had to be takenwhen deciding what paddockswould be used in future to pre-vent further pugging and pasturedamage.

The flood has also delayed anythoughts of harvesting and addi-tional rain will only cause fur-ther issues.

“It’s hard to believe that at thistime last year, we were wonder-ing if it was ever going to rain,”Tracey said.

She said the cows were downby more than 1000 litres during

the peak of the flood but theavailability of an emergencystore of silage and the use ofgrain had brought productionback to the normal level.

“We didn’t lose any stock and

we are working our way back inboth production and our cellcount,” Tracey said.

“We love our cows and wewant the best for them.”

And how does the couple

achieve such good BMCC rates. “Happy cows make happy

milk,” said Tracey. “We lookafter them and we do whathas to be done and we do itproperly.”

Saturation point for suppliersBy ROBERT WHITE

MURRAY Goulburn sup-pliers across Australiahave been hit hard by

wet and violent weather over thepast month.

Floods have hit suppliers insouth west Victoria while on-going wet weather has made lifea nightmare along the MurrayRiver where farm lanes and

paddocks are saturated.There have also been wide-

spread outbreaks of mastitis.In central western New South

Wales, massive floods have cutaccess to MG farms with manyhaving to tip out thousands oflitres of milk. And there remainsno break in sight.

Farmers say the water couldlie around in paddocks for weeksand now tanker access is being

restricted as roads break up andbecome too dangerous.

In South Australia a massivestorm took out the power to theentire state. Many MG supplierswere left stranded and unable tomilk cows.

MG had organised suppliermeetings at both Mt Gambierand Hahndorf but these had tobe aborted as suppliers could notget to them.

MG supplier, Di Bowles, atMead, near Cohuna, said herfarm was not a happy place.

“We are having lots ofissues with bactoscans andthermodurics.

“Things are very hard andtough going,” she said.

It is a picture that spreadsthroughout the irrigation districtof northern Victoria.

In the central west of NewSouth Wales, Field ServicesManager, Michelle Blakeney,reported that three of MG’s fivesuppliers at Forbes had been hitby the floods with two farmersunable to have milk collectionsfrom the 23 September.

Another supplier was forcedoff the collection list onOctober 1.

“It is a very difficult situationfor our suppliers and the com-munity of Forbes,” saidMichelle.

“I am in daily contact with oursuppliers but at this stage wedon’t know when we will beable to resume pick-ups.

One of the suppliers affected,the Cowhan family was able toresist the floods for the firstweek but damage to roads hasmeant it was now impossible toget a tanker into the farm.

“We were the lucky ones,”said Murray Goulburn supplier,Peter Cowhan. “Other farmerswere out for a week before us.But now we could be without amilk pick-up for weeks,” he said.

Peter said 75 per cent of the240ha home farm was underwater.

“The flood in 1990 was biggerthan this but we weren’t milking300 cows at that stage,” he said.

The family has a further 140haoutblock where heifers are raisedand while much of that is alsounder water, Peter said theheifers were safe and there wereenough higher parts for them tofind feed.

Peter praised the transportcompanies which had gone outof their way to find ways andmeans of getting to farms.

He said they had travelledhundreds of kilometers out oftheir way just to get to farmsdesperate for a pick-up.

“It’s been a great effort but

you can’t keep that up forever.”MG supplier, Stephen Kennett

who farms north of Clare inSouth Australia, said he waswithout power for two milkings.

He also suffered from a lackof communications as both land-line and mobile services werecut.

“We didn’t know when thepower would be back,” he said.

He said his father and sondrove some distance to borrow agenerator only to find it wasn’tstrong enough to run the dairy.

Attempts to find a strongergenerator were dashed becauseno-one could be contacted.

“We drove to Clare but could-n’t get into the town because thecreek was flooded,” saidStephen.

He was considering his nextstep when the power unexpect-edly returned.

“It was raining and windy andcold but we were able to get thecows in the shed and they wereas pleased as we were that theywere being milked.”

Flooding has also affected acereal crop on the farm.

“We’re not sure how muchdamage has been caused becausethe water is running through thecrop fairly quickly.

“I’m sure we’ll lose some,”Stephen said.

Mud and water have made dairy life a nightmare for the Bowlesfamily at Mead in north west Victoria.

OCTOBER 2016 DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN14

MURRAY GoulburnChairman, Phil Tracy,and fellow Gippsland

Region Director, Bill Bodman,allowed themselves to comeunder the health microscope atlast month’s South GippslandDairy Expo.

They took part in a projectundertaken by the NationalCentre for Farmer Health(NCFH).

Farmers were invited to attend

Directors undertake health checks at ExpoNCFH representative, Jeanne Dekker, helps MG Chairman, PhilTracy, fill out a form containing a health check list.

MG Director, Bill Bodman, left, gives a sample of blood to NCFH representative, Alan Lowe, at lastmonth’s farmer health check at the South Gippsland Dairy Expo.

the Rural Finance marqueewhere NCFH representativesconducted a series of healthchecks including blood sugarcounts, stress and hearing levelsand blood pressure and choles-terol among many other healthassessments.

MG was one of the sponsorsof the Dairy Expo healthcheck.

Phil said farmers too oftenneglected their health because

they were either too busy or sawthemselves as bullet-proof.

“Men especially believe theydon’t need check-ups, yet thework they do is critical to theoverall operation of the farmbusiness.

“If they fall ill, then thefarm and the family suffers,”he said.

He praised the NCFH forbringing farmer health into theopen and promoting the need for

farmers to take more care ofthemselves.

But he added that his testresults would not be availablefor public scrutiny.

NCFH representative andDevondaler “Farmer Health”columnist, Jeanne Dekker,attended the Dairy Expo andtook many farmers through theirtests.

“Health assessments can makea big difference for farmers and

we encourage them to have reg-ular check-ups with their localGPs,” she said.

“The work we are doing hereat the Dairy Expo is to collectevidence-based research for thedevelopment of Farmer Healthprojects.”

She said she was pleased withthe interest shown by manyfarmers who took advantage ofbeing able to have a free healthcheck up.

Friends Kira Waldron, 10, left, and Sophie Kenney, 10, couldn’t resist sampling some of theDevondale flavoured milk at last month South Gippsland Dairy Expo.

MG supplier, Shaun Cope and his young son, Trey, were all ruggedup for the cold at last month’s South Gippsland Dairy Expo.

DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN OCTOBER 2016 15

MARK BROOKES

Plan your spring feed to set up future

ONE thing we cannot con-trol is the season andrecord rainfalls have creat-

ed an interesting spring harvest. For those lucky enough to

have done their silage harvest,job well done. For others it willbe much later than normal.

It is worth mentioning to havea think how you are set up forfeed over the next six months orso.

Once you know how muchsilage will be harvested it isworth doing a feed budget towork out what your feed require-ments will be in the comingmonths.

Good planning early willhelp secure feed at cheaperprices. HOW DO I PLAN FOR FEEDING IN THECOMING MONTHS?USING a target to hold thedecline in milk production atseven per cent per month is aguide. The more feed in earlylactation a cow can eat the moreshe can produce over the entirelactation.

Numbers are the key and theyshould be crunched to make surethat this target is the right fit foryour farm.

It is important to know howfeed is partitioned in the dairycow as this has a real impact ontarget levels of milk production.

If we explore the cow, before alitre of milk is produced, we par-tition energy to the following:maintenance, activity, grazingtime, pregnancy and milk pro-duction.

The estimated surplus or

deficit of feed available for thecow is determined by the rela-tionships of pasture intake, esti-mated ME in pasture consumed,supplement intake and estimatedME in supplement consumed.

These factors drive the successof turning grass into milk. Themore milk produced per cowwill reduce the ratio of mainte-nance required by the cow thusgiving you a better FeedConversion Efficiency.

A simple cow ration of pastureplus grain and added silage, oncethe pasture declines, is a simplebut effective ration to feed in thecoming months.

Given the milk price and thecheaper cost of feed it is a goodopportunity to fully feed cowsand hold the decline from thepeak.

Doing the above numbers onyour own farm will determinethe pay back for you and whereyou will position your milk pro-duction and the feeding of yourherd.

It is important to keep an eyeon body condition in the herd.The goal is to limit additionalgain in body condition whilemaintaining (or increasing) milkyield.

Once body condition has sta-bilised:● Avoid highly fermentablediets consider barley as yourgrain source. This will help

What feed is required and potential returns from a seven per centdecline from the peak?

Litres M/solids KG DM Grain Silage Pasture $/feed Cents $ produceCow Cow (kg) Cow/ Cow/ Cow/ Cow/ Cow/ produce 1kg MS

day day day day day 1 litre

Nov 30 2.2 21 4 0 17 2.56 8.5 1.16

Dec 28 2 20 5 2 13 2.83 10.1 1.41

Jan 26 2 19 6 4 9 3.14 12 1.57

Feb 24 1.77 18 6 6 6 3.27 13.6 1.84

*Assumes Grain (GV) at $225/tonne for Nov/Dec and $233/tonne Jan, $236/tonne Feb, silage at $170/tonne, andpasture at $80/tonne. Mineral additive included at 20¢/cow/day.

lower feed costs. ● Lower glucose requirements,dilute starch. ● Use highly digestible foragefeeds. EVALUATING COW RESPONSES TODIET CHANGESIF making changes to the dietconsider the following points tohelp evaluate the adjustments:● Keep an eye on milk yield.● Body condition score cows.● Check manure consistency andcomposition.● Make note of dry matterintake/cow.● Check milk fat percentage andyield.● Compare milk yield with perkilogram of dry matter intake.● Lactation curves: peak andpersistency. ● Herd testing will pick up theinefficient cows.SECURE FEED NOW!I WILL have to take a punt, butby the time you are reading thiswe should have a price indicatorof what hay is trading for.

Given what I have seen andhave been told by growers itshould be cheaper than last year.

As in all years securing hay atharvest will ensure you the bestprice, plus it gives you theopportunity to buy fresh goodquality hay.

At MG Feed Solutions we willhave opportunities to lock inparcels of hay for direct move-ment after the baler or you canbuy and we will store for you

What are the targets for a seven per centdecline from the peak?

This graph illustrates that a well-fed herd achieving aseven per cent decline would peak at 30 litres and roughlyfall two litres per month.

taking delivery within an agreedtime.

If you are not locking in grain,please consider this an option. Ithelps to manage cash flow andtakes out some of the highs andlows in the market.

We are very competitive onpricing and like hay, we candefer feed to help manage yourcash flow.

If you need any help withfeeding your cows talk to one ofour Nutritionists:● Mark Brookes North East0447 500 450● Mark Lister North West0448 343 396● Jess Harmsworth SouthWest 0499 005 560● Katrina Smith Gippsland0434 569 770

Maffra demo farm to tighten its beltTHE Macalister

Demonstration Farm atMaffra in central

Gippsland is planning evenharder than family-run farms toget through the next season.

The farm supplies MurrayGoulburn and pays 100 per centof labour costs.

Farm operators are planningfor 2016/17 by maintaining aninitial high stocking rate, push-ing pasture growth and enforcingstrict cost controls.

After two years as GippsDairyfocus farm, the Tinamba proper-ty is preparing for next seasonwith a total production cost of$5.52/kgMS.

That budget supposes a grossmargin of $1.60/kgMS, althoughwith an operating loss of$0.20/kgMS.

The farm is anticipating a pro-duction budget of 145,000kgMSor 500kgMS/cow, amounting ata 2.1 per cent lift over last sea-son.

The stocking rate will remainhigh, at 4.4 cows/ha in the firstpart of the season, reducing afterDecember, depending on pasturegrowth.

More pasture will be offeredto the herd earlier than the previ-ous season, with a target of14tDM/ha, amounting to3.5tDM/cow.

Pasture consumption is a keydriver on this farm, more so thanmost.

Focus Farm Project ManagerJohn Mulvany said: “This farmhas to achieve 13tDM/ha-plus tomeet the budget constraints,given grain and fodder prices.”

While pastures will be boostedby 880kg/ha of urea, soil testshave shown no need for PKS –one of several cost cutbacks.Others include curbing pasturerenovation to spraying/drilling-only across 14ha. Repairs andmaintenance will be slightlyreduced, with only minimaltrack repairs, and there will beno capital expenditure.

Other savings will come fromchanges to bought-in feed, possi-bly replacing wheat with good-quality barley.

There are also plans to feedless grain, especially duringspring and summer, based on themargin of grain prices to milkprices. Cheaper dry cow andcereal hay is also on the cards.

Meanwhile, Farm Manager,Mahesh Singh, is aiming for 300

rolls of silage, cut from agenuine surplus.

The strategy worked well theprevious season and, additional-ly, the farm’s labour efficiencywas a very high 2.3 full-timeequivalent. John Mulvanynoted: “This is very high, indi-cating a team that is careful withlabour use.

“Costs have to be pruned - noexceptions. The farm has 100per cent paid labour so has noability to work for less.”

Another area of savings willbe breeding management, usingfewer, cheaper semen straws andusing no prepared lead-feedingunless absolutely necessary.

Less additives will be fed tothe herd, possibly none post-joining, or maybe then only cal-cium.

Focus farm facilitator, MattHarms, said: “These are difficulttimes in the dairy industry and itis often events such as these thathelp clear the fog and presentfacts and options for people totake away and consider for theirown businesses.”

The MDF operates as a corpo-rate farm subject to a board.During its two years as a FocusFarm, the farm has had guidancefrom a support group that metregularly to review the farm’soperation and discuss ideas toimprove productivity, reducecosts and maintain viability.

The first-year of funding forthe Focus Farm came fromRegional Development Victoria,with the balance provided byGippsDairy and Dairy Australia.

- SUE WEBSTER

The morefeed in earlylactation a cowcan eat themore she canproduce overthe entirelactation.

solutionssEAsonAl

MG tRADinG suppoRtinG fARMERs• Cobram• Cohuna• Colac• Corryong• Deloraine

• Dumbalk• Eskdale• Finley• Foster• Heywood

• Kiewa• Koroit• Korumburra• Leongatha• Maffra

• Numurkah• Orbost• Rochester• Simpson• Smithton

• SwanHill• Wangaratta• Warragul• Wonthaggi• Yarram

Freight charges may apply to some product lines. Prices stated do not include any freight charges (which are not known to Murray Goulburn  Trading Pty Ltd and which participating stores may incur and choose to pass on to customers). Participating stores in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania may add these freight charges into the price they charge to customers for any of the products featured in this advertisement.

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