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Setting high milk quality standards

As the 2017 national winners of DFMC’s milk quality award, Kaid and Joanne Hawken know a thing or two about how to produce quality milk.

Based on their 120-hectare farm in northern Victoria near Leitchville, the Hawkens run around 360 cows comprising about 50% Fresians and 50% cross-breds with Jersey, Brown Swiss and Aussie Red all in the mix.

The Hawken’s family were among the first settlers in the region and Kaid’s parents – Gary and Jenny – still work on the property. “Jo and I manage the dairy and we have three part-time milkers helping out,” said Kaid. “Mum does the office work and dad does all the irrigation and the pasture renewals.”

Kaid re-joined the dairy business after an apprenticeship as a boiler maker and a number of years on the family’s piggery. He quickly got into the swing of things and looked for ways to improve the business.

About six years ago, after meeting with his local vet to discuss mastitis and the herd’s health, Kaid made two key changes to how he managed his cows: he introduced teat seals, and he delayed cup placement on the cows entering the dairy. Both measures aimed to improve teat hygiene and address mastitis.

Drying off process

“We take a great deal of time drying off cows,” said Kaid. “Firstly, we slow down milk production for four to five days, then the next day we pull out a small number of cows, around 15 to 30 to dry, so we don’t get sick of doing it and do a poor job.

“The next step is cleaning the teats thoroughly with wipes, then applying antibiotics, wiping the teats again, then applying the teat sealer. This plugs the teat canal up for the dry period preventing bugs getting in and setting them up for the next lactation.

“When they come back in after they calve, they come in and they’re ready to go. It made a big, big difference.”

While there is a cost associated with applying the teat seal Kaid suggests that he makes his money back ten-fold by avoiding the costs of mastitis, which are around $250 a cow covering treatment and the cost of lost production.

Reducing cell counts

The second practice Kaid implemented was to delay when he puts the cups on the cows. Previously the cups were put on the cows immediately after they entered the dairy.

“We now put the cups on after they’ve moved around five or six spaces in the rotary dairy to give the cows more time to let their milk down,” said Kaid.

“This cut down the number of sores the cows were getting at the end of their teats by a lot, which in turn cut down the mastitis cases and the cell count went down after that too.

“It took three months to get a result but within six months we had a great result.

“Before I was seeing two to three cases a week of mastitis then, once I implemented these changes, it started coming down until I was getting just one case a fortnight and it got better and better after that.”

Kaid now targets a somatic cell count (SCC) of between 50,000 and 60,000 cells/ml – a good indicator his mastitis is well under control. His standard is above the industry benchmark with Dairy Australia suggesting that bulk cell counts of less than 150,000 cells/ml show “Excellent mastitis cell count control”. The results of Kaid’s most recent cell counts were 66,000 and 53,000 – excellent results indeed.

A quality base

The Hawkens have been with DFMC for more than 12 years, a testament to the long-term performance of the relationship. Kaid says that knowing and trusting the people at DFMC makes a difference.

Not only did they win DFMC’s 2017 national milk quality award, they also won DFMC’s 2016 Victorian milk quality award. They have established a solid reputation and legacy for quality that reflects the standards and values of all DFMC members.

Meet a director: James Geraghty

The picturesque rolling hills around Millaa Millaa in Far North Queensland is home to DFMC Director James Geraghty and his Finish-born wife Sari.

For James and Sari, dairy farming is a way of life. “I love being able to get up and do what we do and to be your own boss,” said James.

James purchased the farm in 1981 with his parents and he has lived and worked in the region ever since. James and Sari are currently running a dairy herd of around 230 Fresians plus 40 Brahmans for beef and, when he’s not running the business, he enjoys a bit of camping, fishing and shooting.

As a long-term and committed DFMC member, James believes FNQ farmers are stronger together by working collaboratively under the co-operative. When the position on the DFMC Board became available in 2009, James thought he had been in the business long enough and had enough time to dedicate to the job to take it on and do it justice.

“I just hope I can help dairy farmers achieve better outcomes,” he said. “It’s important for Far North Queensland producers to have a local voice who understands the local environment.

“We do dairy farming very differently up here. Our tropical grasses are not as digestible as ryegrass and we get less milk off our pastures than dairy farmers down south.

“Everything we use we have to freight to us and that makes the cost of production higher than average.”

Far North Queensland farmers are also in a different situation than their counterparts elsewhere in the country because there is only one main processor.

James’ industry experience, long-term commitment to the industry, and deep understanding of the people in the industry in Far North Queensland have helped inform and guide the DFMC Board to best support farmers in the region.

“I just want to make sure our dairy farmers are listened to,” he added.

Lion to sell Lion Dairy & Drinks

Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative (DFMC) has informed members that Lion has decided to sell Lion Dairy & Drinks (LDD) following a strategic review of its business.

Executive Officer Mark Kebbell said that the interests of DFMC’s members were central to DFMC’s concerns and that Lion had indicated a sale would best position their business to grow and take advantage of consumer wellness trends.

“DFMC has a long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship with the core business behind LDD,” said Mark.

“Over the years the business has changed ownership a number of times and transformed to take advantage of market opportunities.

“We will work with any future owners of the business to support their success because we want the milk that our farmers supply to be processed and marketed effectively.”

He added that DFMC farmers were proud of their relationship with Lion and the brands they supplied including ‘Pura’ and ‘Dairy Farmers’ white milk as well as popular flavoured brands such as ‘Dare’, ‘Farmers Union’, ‘Big M’ and ‘Masters’.

Similar sale processes have taken between 6 and 12 months to conclude. With the sale process now underway, business will continue as usual in the interim.

Lion CEO Stuart Irvine said, “The sale process will focus on finding the right owner to take LDD forward and unlock its full potential.”

DFMC will continue to communicate any issues or outcomes with its members as they arise and any questions should be directed to Executive Officer Mark Kebbell and the Board.

Consumers’ milk choice can benefit dairy farmers in the dry

From this morning, consumers buying a 1L, 2L or 3L bottle of Dairy Farmers or Pura branded white milk from participating retailers in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria will be supporting drought-affected dairy farmers in those states who supply the milk.

The fundraising initiative is the brainchild of Lion Dairy & Drinks, which processes milk supplied by members of Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative (DFMC) along with their own direct dairy suppliers.

Lion Dairy & Drinks last week announced that 10 cents per litre would be added temporarily to the wholesale price of its Dairy Farmers and Pura 1L, 2L and 3L white milk products sold through participating grocery and convenience stores in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. All the additional funds will go directly to drought affected dairy farmers supplying Lion Dairy & Drinks in those states.

Selected retailers are applying a similar fundraising approach through their home-brand milk.

DFMC has welcomed Lion Dairy & Drinks’ move, which Queensland dairy farmer and DFMC Chair Andrew Burnett said would help co-operative members who were doing it tough as a result of the drought.

Mr Burnett said it was an important step towards supporting the sustainability of Australia’s dairy farmers during a difficult period of drought.

“Any increase in the wholesale price of milk that supports our farmers – especially those who are facing drought – is welcomed,” he said.

DFMC is a farmer-owned co-operative of 186 dairy farmers in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia. All milk produced by DFMC is sold to Lion Dairy & Drinks.

“The money raised from this temporary wholesale milk price increase will make a difference and really help with the higher costs of feed and water,” Mr Burnett said.

“I want to thank in advance all consumers who take this easy and effective step towards helping our dairy farmers by simply choosing Dairy Farmers or Pura white milk from participating retailers.”

DFMC is part of an independent committee being set up by Lion Dairy & Drinks to oversee the distribution of funds raised to drought-affected Lion Dairy & Drinks dairy suppliers.

Media information

Gabrielle Sheehan or 03 9670 6599 at Currie Communications.

DFMC Chair Andrew Burnett is available for interview

Ten cents extra for branded milk will help dairy farmers

Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative (DFMC) welcomes the temporary increase in wholesale milk prices for ‘Dairy Farmers’ and ‘Pura’ branded white milk announced by Lion Dairy & Drinks today. 

Queensland dairy farmer and DFMC Chair Andrew Burnett said the move by Lion Dairy & Drinks would help its members doing it tough. 

He says it is an important step towards supporting the sustainability of Australia’s dairy farmers during these difficult periods of drought.   

“Any increase in the price of milk that supports our farmers – especially those that are facing drought – is welcomed,” he said.  

Lion has announced every cent of the additional 10 cents per litre that it is temporarily adding to the wholesale price of its ‘Dairy Farmers’ and ‘Pura’ 1L, 2L and 3L milk sold at participating grocery and convenience stores will go directly to their nominated dairy farmers in drought affected areas in NSW, SEQ and Victoria. 

Selected retailers have also announced similar moves on their generic milk.   

DFMC is a farmer-owned co-operative comprising 350 dairy farmer members from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. All milk produced by DFMC is sold to Lion Dairy & Drinks.  

“The money raised from this increased wholesale milk price on 1L, 2L and 3L Dairy Farmers and Pura white milk will make a difference to our drought-affected farmers, and really help them with the higher costs of feed and water,” said Andrew.  

“I want to thank in advance all consumers who take this easy and effective step towards helping our dairy farmers by simply choosing branded Dairy Farmers white milk in NSW and QLD and Pura branded white milk in Victoria.  

“We want to keep producing milk for you, and through fairer pricing we can.” 

Milk at the new price will be sold across Australia in identifiable ‘Dairy Farmers’ and ‘Pura’ 1L, 2L and 3L bottles at participating grocery and convenience stores in NSW, QLD and Victoria from 1 October 2018.  

DFMC will participate in an independent committee being set up by Lion Dairy & Drinks which will oversee the process of distributing funds to drought-affected farmers who supply Lion Dairy & Drinks.   

Media information

Gabrielle Sheehan
Currie Communications
www.curriecommunications.com.au

DFMC welcomes new director and WRAC members

Victoria, DFMC’s Region 5, has a new director, Bernice Lumsden, replacing Cam Hodge who resigned in June this year.

Bernice is a third generation dairy farmer in the Leitchville area in Northern Victoria and milks 750 cows with her husband Scott producing 5.7 million litres of milk on 1500 acres of mainly Lucerne and rye grass supplementary feeding with a partial mix ration of home grown maize and vetch silages. Bernice has a Bachelor of Business and Masters of Business Administration and worked for eight years in the tertiary education field.  She is currently a member of the Torrumbarry Water Services Committee for Goulburn Murray water.

DFMC chairman Andrew Burnett welcomed Bernice to her first face-to-face board meeting recently in Sydney and congratulated her, saying “your input you will certainly add value to the board especially around audit and finance”.

“It is important that the board has balance, with people from different backgrounds and experiences,” he added.

Bernice encourages suppliers to contact her directly on 0418 578 908 or via email bernice.lumsden@dfmc.org.au.

We also recently called for nominations for our Ward Representative Advisory Council (WRAC) and I’d like to thank and congratulate those who have made the commitment to assist in this important co-operative group. I’d also like to thank those who have recently served on the WRAC and have made way for the next generation.

David Vonhoff and Mark Wheildon in South East Queensland (SEQ), Greg Ault in Victoria and Tom Hamilton in Far North Queensland (FNQ) have all made valuable contributions in recent years – well done and thank you.

Our new councillors are: Dennis English in FNQ, Bianca Wheildon in SEQ, and Chris Kelly and John Pethybridge in Victoria. Together with returning WRAC members they will join the board and management for a full day workshop prior to the AGM in Melbourne.

Supplier meetings – winter 2018

Throughout winter DFMC staff visited suppliers in all production regions.

Southern Region

Echuca and Milawa, Victoria

Both these lunch meetings were well attended with suppliers hearing Chairman Andrew Burnett and EO Mark Kebbell give some insights into how the milk price negotiations with Lion are conducted and the processes involved in arriving at the current price.

Along with other topics much discussion was created with Mark and Andrew answering a slew of questions from suppliers present.

Feedback was extremely positive with comments suggesting that these were some of the more informative meetings suppliers had attended.

DFMC member Peter Behrens Leitchville said, “This was really one of the better supplier meetings I have attended – very informative and gave a real insight into how pricing is formed”.

Normanville & Mt Barker, South Australia

The Normanville meeting was an evening dinner meeting that again was well attended and gave suppliers the opportunity to socialise over dinner before hearing from Mark and South Australian director Adrian Dauk . While not fielding as many questions as in Victoria, feedback suggests that suppliers had heard what they needed to from DFMC and were largely satisified.

Mount Barker was a much smaller meeting with only three suppliers attending yet threw up some of the most interesting questions and subsequent discussion of all the meetings giving Mark, Adrian and Dom plenty to think about.

Northern Region

Seven Northern Region supplier meetings were recently held during the month of July.  Seventy percent of our members attended meetings in the three regions covering NSW, SEQ and FNQ.

Our meetings covered a range of topics:

  • Pricing updates in local and international markets.
  • Pricing principles and negotiations with LDD.
  • Farm numbers and supply across the regions.
  • Our milk supply agreement with Lion Dairy & Drinks Pty Ltd.
  • Our role in the ACCC inquiry.
  • Some details around our logo change.
  • Changes to the milk payment system in NSW and SEQ.
  • An open forum in FNQ in regards to the AFD system.

Whilst each region has slightly different issues the drought is having a severe impact on all areas throughout the north. High purchased feed costs combined with increasing energy prices is having a major impact on farm profitability. In all meetings we had great robust discussions on the long term profitability of the dairy supply chain and DFMC and Lion are well aware of these increased costs and the associated impacts on individual farm businesses.

Support for drought-affected dairy farmers

As Australia’s dry conditions worsen, dairy farmers affected by feed shortages are encouraged to seek support for both their livestock and themselves.

Dairy Australia managing director Dr David Nation said high demand for fodder coupled with escalating water prices and uncertainty of supply was creating pressure for some farmers.

“The most important message is to act now to best prepare your business for the coming year,” David said in a media statement.

He said Rural Development Programs (RDPs) would focus on delivering tools and resources to guide on-farm feed planning and management as part of their extension role.

“I encourage farmers to reach out to the RDP in their region and work with the team to maximise home-grown feed in late winter and spring,” David said.

Fodder is becoming increasingly difficult to source in the east-coast states in particular.

A poor autumn across much of eastern Australia and ongoing drought in NSW, Queensland and East Gippsland in Victoria have already had a serious effect, and the Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a one-in-two likelihood of an El Niño event forming in the coming spring and summer.

Dairy Australia’s new Feed Shortage 2018 resource hub points farmers to relevant information including hay and grain reports, a farm inputs monitor and feed budgeting tools.

This campaign builds on the work of previous seasonal responses such as feed.FIBRE.future in 2006–07 and Tactics for Tight Times.

It comprises seven components:

  • Seasonal update information sessions
  • Feed budgeting and purchasing risk management
  • Dairy discussion groups
  • Engagement and signposting
  • Regional planning, co-ordination and communication
  • Taking stock
  • Access to feedstuffs.

The latest details are available online at dairyaustralia.com.au/feedshortage.

The Rural Financial Counselling Service provides primary producers including dairy farmers with free and impartial financial information, options, decision-making support and referral services – phone 1800 686 175.

The National Farmers’ Federation has compiled a list of drought support services and published this on its Facebook page.

And Lion Diary & Drinks offers a comprehensive Personal Support Program to assist its dairy farmers – including all DFMC members – in meeting the challenges and demands of work and personal life.

Meet a director – Andrew Burnett

DFMC Chair since November 2017, Andrew joined the board with the belief that industry benefits when dairy farmers are involved beyond the farm gate.

“We have a very complex supply chain and it works best when we have farmers working together and working closely with industry,” Andrew said.

Andrew, his wife Fiona and their two sons run a dairy farm in Gympie in South East Queensland.

During his Associate Diploma in Applied Science at University of Queensland Gatton, Andrew had a particular interest in agronomy – specifically, in field crops and pastures. With a reliable water source nearby the dairy farm in the Mary River, Andrew has developed an annual rye grass pasture for feeding in the winter months and a maize-based silage system for feeding in summer. Andrew says his background in agronomy has been beneficial in helping him research how to get the best out of his pastures to aid milk production.

“Whether you’ve studied or not, I think it’s good to be able to research further into things that you could or shouldn’t be doing in your management,” Andrew said.

Following his diploma, Andrew spent a year working in the cotton industry. However, the pull of dairy was too strong, and it wasn’t long before he had returned to work alongside his parents on their dairy farm, before buying it from them in 2004.

His favourite aspect of dairy farming is the diversity of skills that are required to maintain the operation.

“In intensive agriculture there’s a lot involved, so you need to be an agronomist to establish good pastures, an animal husbandry expert to maintain the health of your herd, a mechanic to get the best out of your machinery and infrastructure, and be able to manage business finance and, if you have staff, human resources. I don’t think there’s ever a dull day.”

Andrew spends his Saturdays playing for his local soccer team, Columbia, and coaching his son’s junior team. While he doesn’t play anymore, Andrew is a keen cricketer and formidable left-arm quick in the backyard.

Returning to a promising industry

Returning to the family dairy just six years ago, DFMC member Dennis English is one of the new generation dairy farmers in the Malanda region in Far North Queensland.

With thoughts of returning to dairying at some point in his life and after some 15 years in Cairns working in construction and machinery, Dennis started to move his family back to Malanda in 2012. He picked up the reins to manage the 250 Holstein-Aussie Red cross milkers from his parents Peter and Veronica who remain involved in the business looking after the books and helping with milking. His sister Helen also milks every weekday.

Dennis’s mother Veronica English and his sister Helen on the morning milking shift.

While Dennis was familiar with the work he knew many aspects of the business and industry had changed during his time away so he set about making sure he was equipped with the latest knowledge.

“There’s always plenty of news stories coming out in magazines and available on the internet for sub-tropical dairying,” said Dennis. “I do a lot of workshops and attend events – I try to get to as many of those as I can.”

With a “virtually guaranteed rainfall”, running a dairy in the region is quite different from other parts of the country but not without its unique challenges.

“The summer humidity here is probably the big one,” said Dennis. “Cows don’t really like being hot, they much prefer it if it’s nice and cool. The heat, the humidity, and being wet are probably the biggest issues.”

A covered feedpad helps to keep the cows cool and there is plenty of shade in the rye, clover and chicory-based paddocks, which are on a 20-day rotation.

“After the cows have been out in the paddock for the day, they can come back to the dairy around 1:30pm when it’s getting quite warm,” he said. “Then it’s a nice cool temperature drop once they get under that feedpad roof – so they can have a rest there, a drink, cool down, and then we milk at 3:00pm.”

Cows enjoying the shade trees on Dennis English’s dairy in Malanda, Queensland.

Milking routines have been one area that Dennis has focused on to improve the business and as a result milk quality has improved.

“We were getting issues with cows getting mastitis and high cell counts,” said Dennis. “We now flush the cups between each cow with fresh water and fore strip to check the milk quality before the cups go on.

“Milk quality has improved markedly because we’re on it all the time, and just having a routine and making sure everyone does the same thing – the more we stick to it the better everything goes.”

Dennis added that the most enjoyable part of the work is being able to witness each 12-month cycle – seeing how things went last year, and what he could do to make it better the following year. “Just tracking how production is affected by the things that happen in that 12-month cycle. Knowing that you can change what you do here or there and, fingers crossed, it’ll be better next year.”

He added that “over the last three or four years, the milk price stability has been a huge benefit to the whole region”, which he attributes to DFMC’s negotiating strength.

Dennis has also been appointed to the Ward Representative Advisory Council (WRAC) representing Far North Queensland for 2018-19.

DFMC member and dairy farmer in Malanda, Queensland, Dennis English.