DNAFEB2011

Floods take toll on dairy farmers PAGES 4-5

ISSUE 11: FEBRUARY 2011

Feed grain hits marketPAGE 10

International Dairy Week winners PAGES 13-14

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agronomic advantages over all ryegrass endophytes currently available in Australia.Maintaining persistent and high producing ryegrass pastures is an issue for many farms, especially in temperate regions of Australia. Insect pests play a key role in reducing pasture growth and persistence. The recent introduction of novel endophytes has provided

varying degrees of protection against these pests.A key to ryegrass pasture persistence has been unearthed with AR37 endophyte. AR37, developed by AgResearch and other commercial partners, provides resistance against four of the main pasture pests common to Australian pastures. AR37 endophyte in Extreme and Base perennial ryegrasses deters root insects so pastures remain dense

and productive for longer.

Where pasture pests are present AR37 endophyte really is your key to better pasture persistence and productivity.

What is an endophyte?An endophyte is a fungus found naturally in many grass species such as perennial ryegrass and tall fescue. The endophyte fungus grows between the cells of the host plant, drawing nutrients and in return conferring resistance to insect pests and protection from overgrazing.

Most older ryegrass pastures are infected with a standard endophyte (SE, also called wild-type or high

endophyte). This endophyte is used predominantly where price is a factor in the purchase decision and high animal production is not a driving factor. Stock grazing these pastures are very likely to suffer from ryegrass staggers and have significantly reduced weight gains during the warm part of the year.

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For more technical information on AR37 including information on animal health go to www.ar37.com.au or visit your AR37 accredited pasture seed advisor or call Wrightson Seeds on 1800 619 910.

Figure 1. Above illustrates the difference in persistence of late season tetraploid ryegrasses due to different endophytes in the presence of common ryegrass root pests. Sown April 2008, photograph taken February 2010, Ballarat, Vic.

performance, however endophyte free ryegrass pastures have been less persistent in the many areas where pasture pests are present.

Ryegrass with AR1 endophyte provides a safer pasture than standard endophyte with excellent animal performance while providing a moderate range of insect protection. Ryegrass with AR1 has demonstrated poor persistence in areas with major insect pests in Australia (primarily due to the presence of Black Beetle and Root Aphid), though persistence is moderately better than ryegrass without endophyte.

Endo5 endophyte (as with AR1) contains no lolitrem B the main cause of ryegrass staggers, but provides good control of adult Black Beetle, Argentine Stem Weevil, Root Aphid and Pasture Mealy Bug. As a result ryegrass with Endo5 persists better than ryegrass with AR1 in areas where those pests are present.

The key to successful use of endophytes is finding an endophyte that provides excellent pest resistance, while at the same time reducing the risk of compromising stock performance.

Ryegrass with AR37 endophyteAR37 is a novel endophyte that takes pasture pest resistance to a new level. AR37 provides resistance against four of the main pasture pests in Australian pastures (Argentine Stem Weevil, Pasture Mealy Bug, Root Aphid and Black Beetle). Ryegrasses with AR37 show improved persistence, with higher tiller densities over time, when compared to the same cultivars with nil endophyte or standard endophyte. With the obvious benefits of persistence, there has however been no downside to milk production in trials to date.

AR1 AR37 Endo 5

cont.

continued.

ryegrass plants remain dense and productive

for longer

DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA // FEBRUARY 2011 3

NEWSTHIS ISSUEISSUE 11: FEBRUARY 2011

SA professional calf rearer Annabel Mangal reveals her diverse business.

25

Victorian farmer Ben Bennett grows lucerne on formerly stoney ground.

20

Tasmania’s Thompson family won Australian Champion at International Dairy Week.

14

NEWS��3-15

OPINION��16-17

AGRIBUSINESS��18-19

MANAGEMENT��20-24

ANIMAL HEALTH��25-29

MACHINERY & PRODUCTS��30-33

MOTORING��34The Thompson family’s herd graze in the foreground of Drys Bluff, the highest peak of The Great Western Tiers in northern Tasmania. P14

MURRAY GOULBURN has increased its prices by 35c/kg for protein and 14c/kg for butterfat – or $5.25/kg for milksolids – backdated to July 1.

The co-op also advises that its forecast fi-nal milk price for the financial year has been maintained at a range of $5.30 to $5.50 per/kg of milksolids.

The is follows price rises by Fonterra of 13c/kg milksolids (8c/kg fat, 20c/kg protein) back-dated to July 1 – lifting its average annual price to $5/kg for milksolids.

Longwarry Food Park also recently lifted its prices by 7c/kg for fat and 17c/kg for protein, backdated to January 1. Its average price for the year is now $5.08kg/milksolids.

Murray Goulburn managing director Stephen O’Rourke says the co-op is increasingly confident of delivering at the upper end of its price target.

“The international market for key dairy products – such as whole milkpowder, cheese and butter – has remained firm during the first half of FY11, based on very strong demand from MG’s long-term customer base.

“The indications are that the market will re-

main solid this financial year.”Fonterra’s national milk services manager

Heather Stacy says its increase reflects condi-tions in global dairy commodity markets, where prices have held and then strengthened during December and January.

“Whole milkpowder is now trading above US$3700 per tonne internationally and, despite the challenges created by the strong Australian

dollar, we are pleased to be able to pass through the benefit of higher prices to our suppliers,” Stacy says.

Fonterra suppliers are on track for a milk price this season that is one of the highest on record.

“We remain determined to reflect any further significant improvement in market conditions in our farmgate prices,” Stacy says. “One impor-

tant constraint on the returns being generated by international dairy prices is the fact the Aus-tralian dollar continues to trade at or above par-ity with the United States currency.”

LFP also says its increase is a result of im-provements in commodity prices – balanced with the strength of the Australian Dollar dur-ing past months.

“We have seen some stability in the market place with good demand for our products, giv-ing us confidence in further step-ups to be an-nounced in coming months,” the company says.

“Our Longwarry Plant has performed well during spring with increased milk flow benefit-ted by an expansion in our supplier base and improved seasonal conditions.”

Strong international demand was reflected in the opening globalDairyTrade auction at the start of the month. All products rose 7.2% to reach the highest level since the online auctions began in July, 2008.

Prices for whole milkpowder rose 5.7% to $US3995 a tonne, skim milkpowder rose 8.5% to $US3913 and anhydrous milkfat rose 9.2% to $US6486.

MG, Fonterra raise prices

International demand is underpinning farmgate prices.

4 DAIRY NEWS AUSTRALIA // FEBRUARY 2011

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ALTHOUGH AREAS of northern Victoria may remain under water for months, the amount of damage wreaked by the state’s floods is slowly be-ing assessed.

Flooding was prevalent in Victoria’s Wimmera District and the northern areas following the Murray and Loddon rivers. The flooding was caused by La Nina-influenced rainfall of 100mm to 300mm across two-thirds of the state in a week – unprecedented rainfall for January.

Several towns recorded their highest rainfall totals and many rivers broke their records for highest height. The heavy falls led to flash-flooding followed by major flooding in the Avoca, Loddon, Wimmera and Campaspe Rivers.

The Victorian Depart-ment of Primary Industries had surveyed 58% of the area inundated by water at the start of the month. It says about one-third of the state has been affected.

This comprised about 400,000 hectares and the early damage included the

destruction of 2000 kilo-metres of fencing, 83,000 tonnes of hay and silage, more than 51,000 hectares of pasture and 41,000 hectares of field crops. Early estimates suggest the total cost to the Victorian agricultural sector could be as high as $1.5 to $2 billion in lost production, damage to infrastructure and stock losses.

Mastitis and lame-ness will pose risks for dairy farmers as cows suffer the effects of milk-ing delays cows and standing in wet paddocks. Dairy farmers in northern Victoria have pulled together and offered disused dair-ies, fodder and labor in a bid to keep everyone milking.

Floods caused by heavy rains in Tasmania have in-flicted damage estimated at millions of dollars in the north east and north west of the state.

Queensland and north-ern NSW are still mopping up damage from the Janu-ary floods.

Flood Response Groups in Queensland, northern NSW and Victoria were established after the floods by the Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organi-sation and the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria. The grower groups held regular teleconferences

to share information and prioritize activities with state government officials, as well as company field staff, dairy farm leaders, the dairy representative organizations and Dairy Australia staff.

Primary producers in Victoria can access State Government grants of $25,000 and low interest loans of up to $200,000 through Rural Finance.

The government will also meet the cost of transporting donated fodder as part of an emergency fodder drive organised by the Bendigo Stock and Station Agents Association in collaboration with the Victorian Farmers Federation. The Association has established fodder depots at Kamarooka and Pyramid Hill. Others may be set up at Kerang and Horsham. Landholders in north central Victoria can contact Bendigo Stock and Station Agents Association President Richard Leitch on 0428 351 413.

NEWS

Early estimates suggest the total cost to the Victorian agriculture sector could be $2 billion.

Top: Rochester was inundated by flood water last month.

Left: Graeme Hore helps guide the dairy calves owned by his son, Tim, through rising waters at Horfield. Picture: The Northern Times.

Picking up pieces after the flood


FLOODING ACROSS the country will have a severe impact on hay and silage availability this year.

As sweeping flood waters destroyed large quantities of stored hay and crops, Australian Crop Forecasters (ACF) says two main factors have inhibited hay production this year.

Firstly, the large numbers of pad-docks that were cut for hay, but aban-doned because of persistent wet weath-er and then opened up to livestock. Secondly, the hay that was baled – al-beit rain damaged – has now been dam-aged by excessive rain and floodwaters.

ACF managing director Ron Storey says the pressure to supply hay of any quality will be challenging in the com-ing autumn and winter months.

“Victorian hay stocks are being af-fected by floods,” Storey says.

“It is conservative to say that square bales stored outside – and typically stacked six high – around one third of these stocks will not be able to be used

for livestock consumption.“There are many cases of whole

stacks falling over due to the sagging of bottom bales, causing the whole stack to be lying in water for many days.”

Storey says it is still too early to deter-mine what demand will emanate from Queensland and northern NSW feed-lots. Pasture growth, after the floods have receded, will play a crucial role about the amount of cattle on feed over the coming months.

Storey says many dairy farmers are opening up their silage pits and bales to find that the quality is not as expected and protein levels are historically lower.

“With this in mind it may be worth-while feed testing pit and baled silage to avoid any unnecessary surprises.

“Planning and, if need be, buying now may well pay dividends compared to being exposed to higher prices for high protein hay later on in the autumn when the scramble is on.”

The Queensland floods and their

affect on the hay market are still yet to play out, but ACF says much of the south east summer forage crop produc-tion will be depleted.

“This can be offset by importing lu-cerne from South Australia, which has

been happening for some months now, and should set to continue with sub-stantial yields from southern lucerne crops.

“Hay production from winter crops and pastures across the majority of the

country are in the bale – albeit with extreme variance in quality and nutri-tional value.

“With high yielding crops along the eastern state there may be a false perception that there is plenty of hay around, but this is not actually the case.

“Hay of any reasonable nutritional value – without weather damage – is in limited supply and producers are happy to store it in shed and see how the autumn and winter hay markets pan out.”

Due to its long growing season, lu-cerne is becoming a shining light in the hay and dairy industry. While first cuts around the country were generally weather-damaged, subsequent second and third cuts are being produced with-out damage and good yields.

However, Storey says, with recent flooding many lucerne stands close to northern Victorian river systems will have their production drastically re-duced.

NEWS

THE QUEENSLAND Farmers’ Federation (QFF) is con-cerned about the bureaucratic flaws emerging in how the Federal Government’s Flood Levy will be applied – making it potentially unworkable.

The lobby group is also concerned that many severely flood-affected farmers will be hit with the new levy.

“To be exempt from the Flood Levy, people need to have claimed the $1000 Centrelink Disaster Re-covery Payment,” QFF CEO Dan Gal-ligan says. “Given there are farmers in Queensland who have suffered multi-million dollar losses, it is not surpris-ing that many have not bothered with claiming these $1000 payments.

“$1000 is a drop in the bucket when it comes to their losses. Instead, they have focused on businesses as-sistance, including Category C assist-ance of up to $25,000 for their businesses.

“If that’s the case – and even if they have had absolute flood devastation – they will still be asked to pay this flood levy.

“I hope the government does not intend this, but that is

the situation as it stands and clearly we need to fix it quickly.” Galligan says farmers have told him they can’t afford

to pay the flood levy, which could lead to a blowout in ap-plications for the $1000 Disaster Recovery Payment. “It is a matter of urgency that the government fixes these issues

and clears up some of the con-fusion.”

Meanwhile, the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has described the levy as a “tax grab”.

“Farmers are suspicious of any policy which looks at tak-ing more money from taxpayers before significantly reprioritis-ing the government’s spending agenda,” VFF president Andrew Broad says. “While we under-stand that some minor govern-ment projects will be scrapped

and funds redirected to the reconstruction effort, more cuts could be made to avoid this new tax.”

“Many Victorians whose businesses have been destroyed will still have to pay this levy when it comes time to submit their personal tax.”

ONGOING FLOODS in Australia’s east-ern states are expected to reduce farm production by around $2.5 billion and cut 6% off the value of farm GDP in 2010-11.

This is outlined in National Austral-ia Bank’s (NAB) January Rural Com-modities Wrap.

NAB Agribusiness general manager, Khan Horne says food price inflation is expected as Queensland accounts for up to one-third of Australia’s horticul-tural production.

“As an indication, fruit and vegeta-ble prices rose 30% as a result of Cy-clone Larry in 2006 – mainly due to the spike in banana prices,” Horne says.

“With our recent floods, a greater range of fruits and vegetables are being affected so the impact on food price inflation is likely to be broader based.

“Loss of produce and logistical is-sues caused by flooding may see a spike of up to 30% in consumer fruit and vegetables prices.

“NAB estimates the CPI will rise by 0.75 percentage points above expecta-tions for the March quarter, as a result of the price rises in fruit and vegeta-bles – giving a quarterly growth rate of 1.6 per cent.”

Overall, the impact of the floods and the excess rainfall throughout Novem-ber and December is likely to see about 1.1 percentage points wiped off Aus-tralian GDP growth this year, with the bulk taking place in the December and March quarters.

NAB says cotton, sugar and sorghum will be among the other hardest hit crops, as they are mostly grown in the flood affected areas. Meat prices are also expected to face upward pressure.

Despite this, the bank still forecasts the agriculture sector to grow in 2010-11 – albeit at a slower rate.

“The full moisture profiles and in-creased water storages, point to a solid production outlook next season for many farmers across Australia,” Horne says.

Floods destroy hay, crops

Farmers could cop Govt levy Farm production slashed

Farmers who have not applied for the $1000 Centrelink Disaster Recovery Payment will be hit with the Flood Levy.

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branded milk.The Queensland

Dairyfarmers Organisation (QDO) made this claim in the wake of Coles drop-ping its house brand milk prices to $1 a litre, which was quickly followed by competitors Woolworths and Aldi.

The QDO says house brand sales accounted for 25% of total supermarket milk sales in 1999/2000, but this had increased to 52% (or about 581 million litres) by 2008/09.

It says the rise can be attributed to price cuts and aggressive marketing campaigns. The differ-ence in price between milk processor branded milk and supermarket house brand whole milk was 21 cents per litre in 2000/01, but by 2008/09 it was 71c/litre.

QDO president Brian Tessmann says before house brands and supermarket mar-keting strategies, greater returns flowed to the processor and then on to farmers.

“We know from a recent Senate Inquiry that the growing trend toward supermarket brand milk is putting the squeeze on the value chain and ultimately the farmer,” Tessmann says. “This lat-est price drop will increase the price difference be-tween supermarket brand milk and milk processor branded milk.

“So of course shoppers will opt for supermarket brand milk and, with that, lower returns go to proces-sors and that will flow on to the farm gate.”

The move has horrified dairy farmers, who fear the price-war will ultimately lead to a permanent price cut when the supermarket chains negotiate new milk-supply contracts.

Farmers in states such as Western Australia, Queensland and northern NSW – who rely almost ex-clusively on the liquid milk market – fear any price cut will decimate their local industry.

Tessmann says there is

an urgent need for Federal politicians to review and implement the recom-mendations of the recent Senate Inquiry, released in mid-2010 but so far not acted upon, to ensure long term viability for the sector.

This most recent price cut will place added finan-cial strain and pressure on already stressed farming families.

“We are now facing the bleak prospect of retail milk prices reaching a point that is unsustainable for the milk value chain.”

Tessmann says this will flow back through the processing sector and ultimately to farmers.

“Commodities around the world are rising, and so are farming costs, but milk prices are under unsus-tainable downward pres-sure from the retailers.

“With the floods we

have seen dramatic price increases in other food commodities due to short-ages. However, milk is still the same price to consum-ers – even though cost of production for farmers has gone through the roof.

“Major retailers like Coles are using cuts in milk price as advertising to chase customers. But it is the farmers who are ultimately paying for this advertising bill not Coles.”

Tessmann says Coles’ attempts to ‘spin’ how its latest price drop will not affect milk processors and dairy farmers are simply wrong.

“There is no doubt that Coles and the other major retailers are the dominant force in the milk market.

“It appears they are using cheap milk to get people through their doors – but there is a very high risk that farmers are left carrying the loss. It is a loss they cannot afford, especially now.”

NEWS

Cuts will flow back through the processing sector to farmers.

Coles is selling two litre bottles of house brand milk for $2 and two litre bottles of house brand water for $1.37.

Price cuts strip profits from supply chain

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NEWS

WOOLWORTHS HAS joined Coles in dropping its price of house brand milk to $1 a litre despite declar-ing it is not a sustainable price level for milk.

Coles announced its decision to drop its house brand milk price – from $2.47 for two litres of full cream milk and $2.99 for two litres of light milk – to $2 each in press advertise-ments on Australia Day.

Woolworths and Aldi quickly followed suit, by dropping its price for three litres of house brand milk to $2.89.

Australian Dairy Farm-ers (ADF) believes the price cut will slash more than $30 million from Coles’ bottom line each year. Coles says the price cuts will not be passed down the supply chain and onto farmers.

However, ADF Vice-President Chris Griffin says it defies logic that

Coles will “fully absorb” this amount of money.

“It is inevitable that it will be passed on either to consumers through higher prices on other products in Coles’ stores, or on to dairy farmers through lower prices for their milk,” he says.

Griffin says the ADF has challenged Coles to prove its recent milk price cuts will not affect farm gate milk prices for dairy farmers.

“Coles is selling milk at an unsustainable price and it is not only dairy farmers who believe this is the case,” Griffin says.

He says Woolworths was quoted in Victorian daily newspaper, the Herald Sun, as saying “we don’t feel this is a sustainable outcome for the dairy industry”.

“In Brisbane’s Courier Mail, Woolworths also said, ‘this is certainly not a

sustainable price level for milk and it will inevitably lead to pressure at the farm gate’.”

National Association of Retail Grocers of Australia chairman John Cummings says “in the case of milk pricing, the dairy farmer who was getting little will now get nothing”.

“In light of all these ma-

jor industry players saying the pricing is unsustain-able, the ADF challenges Coles to show why they alone believe it is sustain-

able,” Griffin says.

“Why do they alone believe they can absorb the cost?”

House brand milk represents milk vol-ume throughput for milk processors, but profits are derived from their branded milk.

“Coles’ aggressive promotion of home brand milk at the expense of the diverse range of branded milk products represents a threat not only to con-sumer choice, but to the dairy supply chain.

Griffin believes dairy farmers will feel the squeeze as milk processors lose profits.

“How can Coles avoid passing the cost of this tricky marketing tactic on to consumers or dairy farmers?

“Which is it to be? Slug-ging consumers through higher prices on other products in Coles’ stores or gouging dairy farmers by paying them even less for their milk?”

SHADOW MINISTER for Agriculture John Cobb has called on the competition watchdog to investigate supermarkets and milk wholesalers in the wake of Coles and Woolworths slashing their milk prices.

Cobb says the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) should investigate whether the su-permarkets have too much market power and if their be-haviour is anti-competitive.

He says another Senate inquiry should be held, but with much broader powers than the inquiry into milk pricing held in 2009.

“The information provided by the supermarkets to the previous inquiry conflicts with the statements from Coles,” Cobb says. “At the previous inquiry, supermar-kets claimed that their margin was 22%, but now Coles is claiming it can absorb a cost reduction of 30% without passing it onto farmers.

“The figures just do not add up.”Federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig says he will

“look into” the concerns of dairy farmers and “looks for-ward” to hearing from the industry directly.

Cobb says it is inevitable that the current milk price cut by supermarkets will force many farmers to walk away from the dairy industry.

“Following recent discussions with the dairy industry it is clear that if this price cut is maintained the supermar-kets will be renegotiating milk contracts in the next 12 months, forcing producers to supply milk well below the cost of production.

“There is no way this price cut can be sustainable – at least one supermarket chain has recognised this and the other is just kidding itself or just kidding us.

Cobb says that in Victoria the farm gate price of milk needs to be at least 40 cents per litre to cover the costs of production and even higher in other states – which have higher production costs.

“It is likely that the industry outside Victoria will col-lapse and most states will not have access to fresh milk and become reliant on UHT milk.

“While consumers may benefit in the short term by a price cut, in the long term it will mean that they may not have access to fresh milk and will be reliant on UHT milk.”

Calls for new supermarket inquiry

Coles starts unsustainable trendAldi is now selling three litre milk bottles for $2.89.

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Rather than crossing differentvarieties to capture their respectivebeneficial traits, Canterbury’sCropmark Seeds is crossingdifferent species. Specifically, theyare crossing perennial ryegrass withmeadow fescue.

First across the Tasman fromthis programme, in 2004, wasMatrix.

It quickly found a strong fit on

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higher performing dairy, sheep andbeef farms in higher rainfall regionsor under irrigation, throughoutVictoria, lower NSW and Tasmania,and it has been very widely sownover the last few years.

Cropmark’s senior plant breederNick Cameron says the inter-speciescross gives the fast establishment,high dry matter yields andpersistence of the perennial ryegrass

with the high pasture quality andpalatability of meadow fescue,“...a species very different to thetall fescue that farmers may be morefamiliar with.”

“Trials around New Zealand, aswell as in Victoria and southernNew South Wales, have shownMatrix to be very high-producingacross seasons, years and regions,with strong winter and early-spring

growth, providing feed when it isneeded most — around calving andlambing.

“The trials have also shownMatrix is high in metabolisableenergy, highly digestible, and verypalatable.”

Ann and Mark Gardiner, dairyfarmers at Bamawm in theGoulburn Valley, have notedMatrix’s strong persistence. And

especially its fast re-growth whenit rains after drought.

“Matrix has given us theflexibility to adapt to the droughtconditions. It is very forgivingcompared to other permanentryegrasses we have grown. Youdon’t need to treat it with kid gloves.It is so responsive to summer rainthat we are able to graze it veryquickly after rain without the needto re-sow,” Mark says.

Kevin and Helen Jones ofFoster, South Gippsland, won the2010 Dairy Australia CowEfficiency Award & GippslandAward. Matrix is all they grow.They run five cows to the hectareand produce 22,000 litres perhectare.

“We’ve been using it for sixyears, now. Because it’s reliable inour high-rainfall area we achieveconsistent growth rates, high yields,with easy management and lowrisk. The cows graze it down hardand it responds well.”

The Jones say they usually getthe first graze 4–6 weeks aftersowing.

Simon Gleeson, of Brucknell inWestern Victoria, has also beenimpressed with Matrix. He managesBilyana Grazing, which offersweight-gain contract grazing forreplacement heifers. In 2007 hesowed another paddock downbecause of earlier good results.

“You would have to say that thepaddock is a hungry paddock, butthe Matrix bolted out of the groundwhen we sowed it. It was like anannual. Other perennial grasseshave died out in this paddock aftertwo years, but the Matrix is thickernow than when it was sown threeyears ago.

“I like it because you get a longseason out of it. I just need to keepon top of it to keep it at its best.You can see that it’s just so thickthat it’s choked out the broadleafweeds, especially Capeweed, thisyear. I put yearling heifers on it,and they easily do one kilogramliveweight per day on it.”

Ted & Deborah Bingham, ofLardner in Gippsland, have beenusing Matrix for a number of yearsand it’s now the base grass for theirfarm: “Matrix is a solid performer,consistently yielding 11–12 tonnesof feed as well as silage. We usuallyget our first grazing off it after 60days. It always performs well — and the cows love it.”

Stuart Beverly of Poowong,South Gippsland has sown Matrixfor seven years now.

“The cows perform very wellon it. Palatability is excellent. Thecows graze it to the ground and itresponds so well — it’s alwaysthicker than other pastures so there’salways more to eat, more kilos perhectare and, because of its density,less trouble with weeds. I can getloads more silage with it and ahigher stocking rate as well.”

“And after five years it stilllooks brand new. The persistenceis unreal.”

“All I grow is Matrix. I’ve beenusing Matrix now for 6 years anddue to its reliability in a highrainfall area, I achieve consistentgrowth rates, high yields, witheasy management and low risk.The cows graze it down hard,and it responds well.”– Kevin and Helen Jones - dairyfarmers, Foster, South GippslandWinners of the 2010 Dairy Australia CowEfficiency Award and Gippsland Award

The benchmarkfor production and performance

Matrix Enhanced® perennial ryegrasstruly is the benchmark for production and performanceon Victorian dairy farms. It is thoroughly proven, reliable, persistentand high performing.

Many farmers would argue that there is simply no better perennialryegrass. And the cows won’t argue with that either.

They find it very palatable and eat it readily.

Farmers tell us the milk production lifts when the cows are grazing Matrix.

Matrix is suitable for all pasture renovation,including over-sowing.

A novel Kiwi approach to breeding new pasture varieties is finding favour among intensive farmers here.

- Advertisement -


NEWS


Rather than crossing differentvarieties to capture their respectivebeneficial traits, Canterbury’sCropmark Seeds is crossingdifferent species. Specifically, theyare crossing perennial ryegrass withmeadow fescue.

First across the Tasman fromthis programme, in 2004, wasMatrix.

It quickly found a strong fit on

MATRIX IS AVAILABLE FROM YOUR LOCAL SEEDMERCHANT OR FARM MERCHANDISE OUTLETFor further information on Matrix, contact

our regional agronomists:Western Districts, SA, Tasmania:Jason Hill – 0427 607 375North & East Victoria, NSW:Adam Sheedy – 0428 132 096

Trial DataTo view the performance of Matrix in trials, visit ourweb site: www.cropmark.com.au/Trial-Data.aspx

higher performing dairy, sheep andbeef farms in higher rainfall regionsor under irrigation, throughoutVictoria, lower NSW and Tasmania,and it has been very widely sownover the last few years.

Cropmark’s senior plant breederNick Cameron says the inter-speciescross gives the fast establishment,high dry matter yields andpersistence of the perennial ryegrass

with the high pasture quality andpalatability of meadow fescue,“...a species very different to thetall fescue that farmers may be morefamiliar with.”

“Trials around New Zealand, aswell as in Victoria and southernNew South Wales, have shownMatrix to be very high-producingacross seasons, years and regions,with strong winter and early-spring

growth, providing feed when it isneeded most — around calving andlambing.

“The trials have also shownMatrix is high in metabolisableenergy, highly digestible, and verypalatable.”

Ann and Mark Gardiner, dairyfarmers at Bamawm in theGoulburn Valley, have notedMatrix’s strong persistence. And

especially its fast re-growth whenit rains after drought.

“Matrix has given us theflexibility to adapt to the droughtconditions. It is very forgivingcompared to other permanentryegrasses we have grown. Youdon’t need to treat it with kid gloves.It is so responsive to summer rainthat we are able to graze it veryquickly after rain without the needto re-sow,” Mark says.

Kevin and Helen Jones ofFoster, South Gippsland, won the2010 Dairy Australia CowEfficiency Award & GippslandAward. Matrix is all they grow.They run five cows to the hectareand produce 22,000 litres perhectare.

“We’ve been using it for sixyears, now. Because it’s reliable inour high-rainfall area we achieveconsistent growth rates, high yields,with easy management and lowrisk. The cows graze it down hardand it responds well.”

The Jones say they usually getthe first graze 4–6 weeks aftersowing.

Simon Gleeson, of Brucknell inWestern Victoria, has also beenimpressed with Matrix. He managesBilyana Grazing, which offersweight-gain contract grazing forreplacement heifers. In 2007 hesowed another paddock downbecause of earlier good results.

“You would have to say that thepaddock is a hungry paddock, butthe Matrix bolted out of the groundwhen we sowed it. It was like anannual. Other perennial grasseshave died out in this paddock aftertwo years, but the Matrix is thickernow than when it was sown threeyears ago.

“I like it because you get a longseason out of it. I just need to keepon top of it to keep it at its best.You can see that it’s just so thickthat it’s choked out the broadleafweeds, especially Capeweed, thisyear. I put yearling heifers on it,and they easily do one kilogramliveweight per day on it.”

Ted & Deborah Bingham, ofLardner in Gippsland, have beenusing Matrix for a number of yearsand it’s now the base grass for theirfarm: “Matrix is a solid performer,consistently yielding 11–12 tonnesof feed as well as silage. We usuallyget our first grazing off it after 60days. It always performs well — and the cows love it.”

Stuart Beverly of Poowong,South Gippsland has sown Matrixfor seven years now.

“The cows perform very wellon it. Palatability is excellent. Thecows graze it to the ground and itresponds so well — it’s alwaysthicker than other pastures so there’salways more to eat, more kilos perhectare and, because of its density,less trouble with weeds. I can getloads more silage with it and ahigher stocking rate as well.”

“And after five years it stilllooks brand new. The persistenceis unreal.”

“All I grow is Matrix. I’ve beenusing Matrix now for 6 years anddue to its reliability in a highrainfall area, I achieve consistentgrowth rates, high yields, witheasy management and low risk.The cows graze it down hard,and it responds well.”– Kevin and Helen Jones - dairyfarmers, Foster, South GippslandWinners of the 2010 Dairy Australia CowEfficiency Award and Gippsland Award

The benchmarkfor production and performance

Matrix Enhanced® perennial ryegrasstruly is the benchmark for production and performanceon Victorian dairy farms. It is thoroughly proven, reliable, persistentand high performing.

Many farmers would argue that there is simply no better perennialryegrass. And the cows won’t argue with that either.

They find it very palatable and eat it readily.

Farmers tell us the milk production lifts when the cows are grazing Matrix.

Matrix is suitable for all pasture renovation,including over-sowing.

A novel Kiwi approach to breeding new pasture varieties is finding favour among intensive farmers here.

- Advertisement -

THE VICTORIAN Farmers Federation (VFF) has slammed the Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) for not mak-ing submissions to the Guide to the Murray Darling Basin Plan available to the public.

VFF Water Council chair Richard Anderson says the de-cision is a disgrace.

Anderson says when he questioned the MDBA it said submissions were not being treated as a formal process and would not be made available to the public.

“The MDBA’s decision to not make publically available the submissions it has received is a disgrace,” Anderson says. “It is standard practice to do so, unless issues of con-fidentiality arose.

He says making submission public is essential to ensur-ing that interested parties are able to review submissions and test the statements being made.

“The VFF cannot understand why a record of the pub-lic meetings has been placed on the MDBA website, but the enormous amount of work that organisations and in-dividuals conducted in collating information and writing submissions is not being treated with the same respect.

“There can be no confidence in the capacity of the MDBA to prepare a plan in consultation with a community when it behaves as a secret organisation.”

Despite the MDBA efforts, the NSW Irrigators Council has established a website: www.basinplan.com.au to dis-play the submissions.

Anderson says the VFF has been frustrated by the number of times the MDBA has advised that information, upon which they are basing recommendations that will

VFF slams secretive Basin Authority

FORMER NSW Water Min-ister Craig Knowles has been appointed the new Murray-Darling Basin Au-thority chairman – follow-ing the resignation of Mike Taylor.

Taylor resigned in De-cember after the Guide to the MDBA received a tor-rid reception from farm-ers around the country. The controversial draft plan proposed that 3000 - 4000 gigalitres of water be returned to the rivers, through cuts to irrigator entitlements and infra-structure upgrades.

Although Knowles’ ap-pointment has been criti-cised by the opposition, it has been applauded by the National Farmers Federa-tion (NFF), the National Ir-rigators Council (NIC) and the Australian Conserva-tion Foundation.

Knowles was once a member of the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council and NFF President Jock Laurie says he hopes this experience will prepare him for the job ahead.

“He no doubt has a good understanding of the Murray-Darling Basin and management of its water resources,” Laurie says. “Regardless of who chairs the MDBA, it doesn’t change our position.

Laurie says regional communities won’t accept what’s on the table.

“The Guide must change

and change dramatically. The reaction at regional meetings – held across the Basin – is testimony to this.

“Mr Knowles’ first pri-ority should be the sober re-examination and priori-tisation of environmental goals of the Basin Plan. One that seeks to achieve a mature assessment of what environmental assets are key and what are the trade-offs.”

Laurie says this must be the starting point of any further discussion.

“Only once we know that focus, can any of us evalu-ate smart ways to deliver the outcomes which en-sure farm production and regional communities are sustainable.”

NIC chief Danny O’Brien says Knowles is known in water circles for his work on the National Water Initiative, an agreement among all governments that ensured equal treat-ment of environmental, economic and social fac-tors when it comes to water planning.

“We are not opposed to the Basin Plan, but we want to see one that adequately balances the needs of the environment with those of people, food and fibre pro-duction and communities.

“One of Mr Knowles’ first jobs should be to scrap the Guide and commit to a new round of genuine engage-ment with Basin communi-ties to get the Plan right.

‘decimate rural communities’, cannot be released due to confidentiality or intellectual property reasons.

“It is time the MDBA was sent back to the drawing board to begin the planning for future basin needs by consult-ing with stakeholders and state authorities – not through some closed, shop arrangement where information is kept from those most affected by the consequences of the Plan.”

The VFF made this point to the House of Representa-tives Committee on Regional Australia in Bendigo, Vic. Bendigo was part of the Standing Committee’s nine-day tour of the Basin, where they visited farming areas and held 14 public consultations.

The Standing Committee will report back to the Federal Government mid-2011 into the so-cial and economic costs of the proposed cuts to water allocations made in the Guide to the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

Federal Independent MP – and chair of the com-mittee – Tony Windsor, says the inquiry into the MDBA is about giving people a say.

“Many communities have provid-ed us with practical and sustain-able management suggestions for the Basin,” Windsor says.

Positive reaction to new MDBA Chair

Richard Anderson

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EXTREMELY WET conditions during the sum-mer will ensure large quantities of feed grain are available this year.

According to figures released by the Aus-tralian Bureau of Statistics the amount of feed wheat in the country’s bulk handling system – at the end of December – was 6.9 million tonnes, up from 2.4 million tonnes in Decem-ber 2009.

Australian Crop Forecasters (ACF) reports harvest as still continuing in southern parts of the country with mainly feed grades coming off. It says the majority of the wheat will have sprouted and the barley cleaved with the exces-sive moisture that has fallen in November and December.

ACF anticipates that Victoria’s winter crop harvest will not be completed until the mid-dle of February, as rain during late December and early January caused delays with access to already wet and inaccessible paddocks. Grain yields of most crops across the east coast have been above long-term average yields, with some growers recording the highest yields ever.

However, grain quality has been the biggest issue across all crops, with significant down-grading occurring as the harvest draws to a close.

ACF managing director Ron Storey says the final extent of the downgrading of quality of

this year’s winter crop will not be known for several months, as growers now begin to deliv-er grain stored on farm into the bulk handling system or directly to end users.

A significant amount of grain has been stored on-farm as farm access by trucks was hampered by the wet conditions, a shortage of road transport and the availability of grain silo bagging systems on farms, Storey says.

Weather-damaged grain is not a major issue for dairy cow nutrition so the ample stocks are good news for dairy farmers.

Dairy Australia says most studies in cattle indicate the nutritional value of shot and early sprouted grain equal – or even surpasses – that of sound grain. However, shot and sprouted grain is fermented faster by the bugs in the cow’s rumen, so this may increase the risk of ruminal acidosis in more digestible types of

grain such as wheat.Dairy Australia says high moisture, shot and

sprouted grains are more susceptible to mould growth before harvest of during storage and advises farmers to be wary of grain higher than the maximum GTA standard for moisture of 12.5%

Storey says tight global feed grain stocks are providing price support to feed grade wheat which currently would make up a greater than normal proportion of global stocks.

The summer sorghum harvest has kicked off in the Moree district with reports of good quality, while yield indications look very good and are likely to be above previous, due to the favourable growing season. The usually higher yielding eastern area, where flooding will re-duce area and yield potential, will still produce good levels to restock empty sorghum bins.

NEWS

THE FEDERAL govern-ment has appointed a three-person panel to assess the pilot drought reform program being run in Western Australia.

The pilot is being run in parts of WA as a test case for national drought policy. It aims to encourage farmers to improve business models rather than rely on subsidies and cash payments. The pilot has been running since July 1, 2010 and is set to conclude at the end of the financial year.

WA Farmers Federation (WAFF) President Mike Norton says the ‘Excep-tional Circumstances’ sys-tem has not served farmers well in the past and the Drought Pilot is a step in the right direction.

“Initial feedback from members suggests that there have been positive elements in the drought pilot, along with aspects

which need further enhancement or refine-ment,” Norton says. “The fact that Western Australia experienced one of its driest season’s on-record during the pilot program meant that some of weak-nesses in the program were highlighted.

“The dry season also lead to a high level of interest in the program, with some elements being oversubscribed.”

WAFF is urging those farmers who have partici-pated in the pilot, as well as those who have just observed it, to provide it with their feedback and suggestions to be incorpo-rated into a submission on the program.

“This is a real opportu-nity to influence the future direction of Australian drought assistance and preparedness, so let’s make sure we take it,” Norton says.

New drought program reviewed

Feed grain dominates market


NEWS

LOCUSTS HAVE reared their ugly heads again in SA, NSW and Victoria, with authorities asking farmers to start spraying the bands of hoppers before they take flight.

In Victoria, second generation locust hoppers – in the arc of land between Hor-sham and Ararat in the west through to Echuca and Wodonga along the Murray River – should now be sprayed.

In SA, significant bands of locusts have started to group together in the Barossa, Riverland and Mallee, and the Mid North. In western NSW, irrigation farmers at Bourke are struggling to control an out-

break of spur-throated locusts, which are causing significant damage to cotton and citrus crops.

Victorian State Controller for Locusts, John Balfour, says the hoppers are ready for treatment, even in some areas previously affected by the floods – particularly in the Wimmera around Horsham and Stawell.

“We recognise that some landholders and communities have had a lot to deal with, but we need to treat these hoppers now to capitalise on the locust control ef-forts last year,” Balfour says. “Without the treatment efforts by farmers and other landholders, last spring, we would be fac-

Locusts banding in three states

HOLSTEINS SOLD to a high of $32,000 at the In-ternational Dairy Week Se-mex Spectacular Sale.

The first heifer to enter the ring sold for the top price, setting the tone for a successful sale where the 49 lots averaged $8471.

In the breakdown, the 2010 born heifers averaged $8567; the 2009 born heifers averaged $8520; and the cows averaged $6500 – with 245 registered buyers competed strongly for bids.

Cattle went to Tasma-nia, Victoria, SA, NSW and Queensland, as well as overseas.

The top price was paid by Roger and Helen Perrett, Kongwak, Vic, and Ashley Guye from southwest Vic-toria, who bought M-Gee O Silk from the Mountain Syndicate from SA. The im-ported Canadian embryo was born in June, 2010.

G&M Anderson, Gin Gin, Qld, paid the second top price of $22,000 for Ponderosa Talent Jodie, a 14-month-old Red Hol-stein, offered by the Giglia family, WA.

The third-highest price of $21,000 was paid for

Linsand Aspen Cinnamin, offer by Lindsay, Sandra and Lisa Thompson and Matt Templeton, Bracknell, Tas.

Jerseys were the top-selling breed in the Pro-tein Breeds Sale, with a top of $8100 paid by W&A Maples, Cobden, Vic, for Fleurieu BB Selly – offered by GC & SJ Thorn, Fleurieu Jerseys, SA.

Overall, the 23 Jersey cattle on offer averaged

$3805. The second top price of $7800 was paid by P&S Branxholme, Tas, for Wallacedale Action Prim-rose – offered by L&M Wal-lace, Poowong, Vic.

The top price for Brown Swiss was $8000 paid by Greg Osborne, Dondin-galong, NSW, for Benleigh Sultan Margret – offered by Max Wake, Singleton, NSW.

The second top price of $5000 was paid by Craig Whatman, Burrawang, NSW, for Roland Lodge Snicker Sarajevo – offered

by Canobie Partnership, Drouin West.

Two embryo packages, consigned by New Genera-tion USA, were sold for a total of $9200. These were purchased by the Simpson Family, Deniliquin, NSW and George Malinov, Ton-gala, Vic.

The embryo sales boost-ed the sale average to $4314 for seven lots.

The top-selling Ayrshire was bought by Jake Math-

ews, Shady Creek, who paid $5100 for Rockvale Poker Vivienne – offered by M&J Hyland, Sheppar-

ton. The ten lots averaged $2950.

The top-priced Illawarra sold for $7000 to Natalie Cochrane, Nowra, NSW. She purchased Panorama Angeline 17 – offered by K&A Dorries, Oakey, Qld.

Second top-price was $5000, paid by J.English, Wondi, Qld, for Kangawar-ra Jewel 3212 – offered by the Kangawarra Illawarra Stud, who donated the proceeds to the flood relief fund.

The 17 females on sale averaged $3467.

ing a much larger second generation.”Balfour says the current warmer tem-

peratures are leading to increased hopper activity.

“In some areas – particularly in the Wimmera around Hor-sham - hoppers are banding together on the ground. This is the best time to target them, when most have hatched. They’ve massed together and they still can’t fly.”

He expects activity to increase around Horsham, Bendigo, Shep-parton, Wangaratta and Wodonga.

“Given the recent wet weather in much of Victoria, landholders must pay particu-lar attention to label directions regarding the use of chemicals near water bodies,” Balfour says.

SA councils have been given chemicals to eradicate the hoppers and curb the threat to autumn sowing. SA farmers have been advised to mix insecticides with her-bicides and spray for locusts during their summer weed program.

NSW farmer Steve Buster, Bourke, told ABC radio that locusts are causing real damage on his farm.

“They’re just there en masse. The juve-niles came in about three weeks ago and

put five cent piece holes in all the leaf of the cotton.

“The big guys came in and they have stripped off every leaf off a lot of the citrus.”

NSW Deputy Plague Locust Commis-sioner, Suzanne Robinson, says large lo-cust bands of up to 1km long have been found in crops and pastures.

“The spike of locust reports is off the back of high density adult activity late, last year – particularly in the south of the state around Albury, Corowa, Gundagai and Wagga Wagga.

“Some sporadic activity may also occur around Condobolin, Ungarie, Lake Cargel-ligo, West Wyalong and Young, but as yet there have been few reports.”

Robinson says it’s important farmers get back into paddocks and check for locust activity.

“We now have an opportunity to finish the job by finding and treating the second generation before they attack summer crops and pose a threat to winter crops.”

To support farmers’ monitoring efforts, aerial surveillance resumed yesterday and continues this week in the South West of NSW – including in and around Albury and Deniliquin.

Aerial surveillance targets areas where adult populations were seen last year and where known egg laying took place.

The spike of locusts is off the back of high density adult activity late last year.

Jerseys sold to $8100.

The top priced animal in the International Dairy Week Semex Spectacular sale, M-Gee O Silk, sold for $32,000. Pictured in front of auctioneer Brian Leslie (from left) are co-vendors Vaughn Johnston and Rob Walmsley and Lee Simanton, Canada.

$32,000 for Holstein

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New Zealand’s Cropmark Seedshas released an impressive newpasture variety, Helix, that isalready impressing Australianfarmers who have tried it.

Bred for high overall yields andimproved pasture quality, Helix isa mid-heading Enhanced®

perennial ryegrass that flowers sixdays later than Nui.

Helix – feedwhen it is needed most!

HELIX IS AVAILABLE FROM YOUR LOCAL SEEDMERCHANT OR FARM MERCHANDISE OUTLET

“Helix has performed reallywell for me. I have never seenanything as good – it is just sodense. The Helix paddocks onthe farm are certainly thebest paddocks on the farm.I have a pasture trial here froma different seed company andHelix stands out in the trial. Itis always an inch or two tallerthan the other perennialryegrasses. It is the mostproductive and aggressive ofthem all. The plant populationon the Helix is better thananything else too.”– Gavin O’Brien - dairy farmer,Yeo, near Colac, Western Districts

Helix Enhanced® perennial ryegrass is an exciting new releasefrom the Cropmark breeding programme.A mid heading variety at +6 days (cf Nui), Helix is showingexceptional yield across seasons, years and regions, butparticularly over late winter and early spring – providing morefeed when it is needed most around calving and lambing.Helix is high in metabolisable energy and digestibility, and isextremely palatable.Stock love it and eat it readily. Helix is suited to high performancedairy, beef or sheep farms in regions which receive 600+mmrainfall; particularly areas which do not receive reliable latespring rain; or where grass staggers is an issue.Helix is suitable for all pasture renovation,including over-sowing.

Helix – helpingmatch feed supply and demand

For further information on Helix, contactour regional agronomists:Western Districts, SA, Tasmania:Jason Hill – 0427 607 375North & East Victoria, NSW:Adam Sheedy – 0428 132 096

Trial DataTo view the performance of Helix in trials, visit ourweb site: www.cropmark.com.au/Trial-Data.aspx

It is the latest graduate ofCropmark’s innovative programmethat cross-breeds perennialryegrasses with meadow fescue(that’s what the ‘Enhanced’signifies). The latter is an entirelydifferent species from tall fescueand is noted for its high pasturequality and palatability.

In Helix, Cropmark has targeted

that most awkward of periods forgrass farmers — late winter andearly spring when feed is mostneeded to see stock throughlambing and calving — historicallya time of feed pinches.

Before release, Helix underwentintensive on-farm trialling on farmsthroughout Victoria and in SouthAustralia. Its high yield potential

was borne out. It consistentlyshowed improved yields acrossseasons, years and regions.

J a s o n H i l l , C r o p m a r kagronomist in Victoria’s WesternDistricts says Helix is exciting forhim: “I’m running six trials in theWestern Districts and SouthAustralia, at Terang, Hawkesdale,Brucknell, Koroit, Gazette and Mt

Gambier. They’re all on farmsrather than research stations, sothat we can compare our varietieswith others under real farmingconditions, and under differentfarming systems.”

“In every one of these trials theperformance of Helix has beenexceptional.”

“From a plant breeding point ofview, we expect newly-bredvarieties to show improvements inparameters such as seasonal yieldand quality, over older varieties,but that doesn’t always pan out.”

“With Helix, though, we haveseen a consistency in performancethrough yield increases across trialsites and across seasons. We havealso noted strong persistence todate.”

“Another factor to come throughfor Helix is palatability. The cowsconsistently graze it preferentially.We put this down to the meadowfescue in its breeding background.”

“Helix will find a strong fit inhigher performing dairy, sheep andbeef farms in higher rainfallregions or under irrigation.However, because it is mid-heading, it is also highly suitablefor areas that don’t receive suchreliable spring rains, and perhapsinto slightly more marginal areaswhere some of the other perennialryegrasses don’t perform.”

Kongwak, South Gippsland,dairy farmers Roger and HelenPerrett, were very happy with theirstrike of Helix — under wetter thanusual conditions — and it boostedthe i r au tumn and win te rproduction: “Helix has an excellentresponse to fertilizer and itsturnaround time is as good as anygrass I’ve seen. We were as low asa 16-day rotation and the cowsstruggled to keep up with thegrowth. Its persistence showedunder a wet winter of heavygrazing,” says Roger.

“The cows grazed it evenly, andfound it very palatable. You cantell a good grass when they eat itshort and even.”

Dairy farmer Mike Shipton ofNar Nar Goon in West Gippslandgot his first grazing off Helix afterabout six weeks:“The germination rate was greatand the Helix jumped out of theground. I’m rapt in the plantdensity — it really surprised me.It is quick to respond to grazing,too. I have had nine grazings offit since sowing last autumn, plusone load of silage and we’ll get asecond cut. I’m currently on a 18-21 day rotation to keep up with itsgrowth.”

Mike has also noted its highpalatability: “The cows love it andeat it right to the ground. I’venoticed they milk really well on it.

“I will use Helix again for sure.”


HOLSTEINSUPREME EXHIBIT

Fairvale Morty Lady 51, LR, SJ, LA Thompson and M Templeton, Bracknell, Tas CHAMPION COW

Fairvale Morty Lady 51, LR, SJ, LA Thompson and M Templeton, Bracknell, Tas INTERMEDIATE CHAMPION

Cairnhill Damian Leader, Zanders family, Kialla, NSWJUNIOR CHAMPION

Cairnsdale VF Jasper Candace, Menzies Farms and Templeton, Nowra, NSWBEST UDDER

Fairvale Morty Lady 51, LR, SJ, LA Thompson and M Templeton, Bracknell, TasPREMIER EXHIBITOR

Bluechip Genetics, Zeerust, VicPREMIER BREEDER

Bluechip Genetics, Zeerust, Vic

BROWN SWISSSUPREME EXHIBIT

Roland Lodge Duffus, Canobie Partnership, Drouin West, VicCHAMPION COW

Roland Lodge Duffus, Canobie Partnership, Drouin WestINTERMEDIATE CHAMPION

Roland Lodge Queen Bee, Canobie Partnership, Drouin WestJUNIOR CHAMPION HEIFER

Sherbrooke Titanium Olga, Three Creeks Partnership, Laceby, VicBEST UDDER

Roland Lodge Duffus, Canobie Partnership, Drouin WestPREMIER BREEDER

Tandara Brown Swiss, DingeePREMIER EXHIBITOR

Tandara Brown Swiss, Dingee

GUERNSEYSUPREME EXHIBIT

Brookleigh Actions Brunch, LF&JM Cleggett, Glencoe, SACHAMPION COW

Brookleigh Actions Brunch, LF&JM Cleggett, Glencoe, SAINTERMEDIATE CHAMPION

Brookleigh Fabulous, LF&JM Cleggett, Glencoe, SAJUNIOR CHAMPION HEIFER

Glenally GNP Didie, G&S Tivendale, Murchison, VicBEST UDDER

Brookleigh Fabulous, LF&JM Cleggett, Glencoe, SAPREMIER BREEDER

G&S Tivendale, MurchisonPREMIER EXHIBITOR

G&S Tivendale, Murchison

JERSEYSUPREME EXHIBIT

Riverside Renaissance Ivy 11, Riverside Jerseys, NirrandaCHAMPION COW

Riverside Renaissance Ivy 11, Riverside Jerseys, NirrandaINTERMEDIATE CHAMPION

Bushlea Senior Fernleaf, Bushlea Farms, Leongatha, VicJUNIOR CHAMPION HEIFER

Brunchill Minister Tammy, B, K & M Goss, Bishopsbourne, TasBEST UDDER

Minstonette Blacks Vickie 60, J&K Sykes, Ringarooma, TasJERSEY FUTURITY CLASS

WP Nicholson and family, Jugiong Petunia 5574, Girgarre, VicPREMIER BREEDER

Bunchill Jerseys, Finley, NSWPREMIER EXHIBITOR

Bushlea Farms, Leongatha, Vic

ILLAWARRASUPREME EXHIBIT

Illinga Revenge Handsome, Coburn family, The Sisters, VicCHAMPION COW

Illinga Revenge Handsome, Coburn family, The SistersINTERMEDIATE CHAMPION

Illinga Advent Topsy, Coburn family, The SistersJUNIOR CHAMPION HEIFER

Winganna Jet Red Handsome, Coburn family, The SistersBEST UDDER

Warrawee Park Gracie 2, Hicks family, Mooroopna, VicPREMIER BREEDER

Tony and Elle Hayes, Girgarre, VicPREMIER EXHIBITOR

Hurford family, Katunga, Vic

AYRSHIRESUPREME EXHIBIT

Kendi Spring Blossom, R&L McCartney, Tatura, VicCHAMPION COW

Kendi Spring Blossom, R&L McCartney, Tatura, VicINTERMEDIATE CHAMPION

Boldview, Trident Lyndy, R&L McCartney, TaturaJUNIOR CHAMPION HEIFER

Geelunga Ayrshires, Geelunga Adsail Weddingstar, Echunga, SABEST UDDER

Enterprise Iceman Rose, MJ & LR Hentschke, Glencoe, SAPREMIER EXHIBITOR

MJ&LR Hentschke, Glencoe, SAPREMIER BREEDER

MJ&LR Hentschke, Glencoe, SA

NEWS

RICK BAYNE

NIRRANDA FARMER Co-rey Couch has won cricket premierships and enjoyed other sporting achieve-ments – but they all pale in comparison to the success he has achieved with his cow, Riverside Renaissance Ivy II.

“Nothing else comes close to this feeling. This is our life...this is what we live for,” Corey said after Riverside Renaissance Ivy II was named Grand Champion Jersey cow at International Dairy Week.

That’s not a bad effort for a guy who didn’t have any interest in showing cattle, until he met his wife Karin 14 years ago.

The 2011 award is just the latest in a string of firsts for Australia’s best jersey cow. In 2010, she won the senior cham-pionship, adding to her previously held junior and intermediate titles, thus becoming the first cow to ever win all three champi-onships at Dairy Week.

She also comes from a former 2001 International Dairy Week champion, making it the first time a dam and her calf had secured the top title.

And now in 2011, Riverside Renais-sance Ivy II has returned to again be named Champion Jersey Cow, the first time a cow has won back-to-back titles.

The judges particularly praised the cow for her overall correctness, her ud-der and body depth.

“She’s got a bit of an eye-catching style,” Corey says.

“It’s hard to describe. You can have one cow in a row of 10 that just catches your eye and she’s it.”

Riverside Renaissance Ivy II has never been beaten in her class in any show.

The successes haven’t come by accident; in fact they mark the culmination of seven years of targeted

planning for Corey and Karin.

“She was a planned mating to achieve what we have achieved,” Karin says. “We had a dream in mind and we’ve achieved it. Seven years ago after her mother, Riverside Bester Ivy, won we set out to make another one with the idea of winning again.

“There is some luck and hard work with every win-ner, but not many could say they planned seven years ago to achieve this,” Karin adds.

“We’re pretty proud to be able to say that we’ve bred up one of our own cows and had all this success,” Corey says. “We bred for type. We had a picture in our head of what we wanted to happen and tried to match the bull to the cow to achieve good udders, body depth and production traits.”

The Couches used IVF technology using Hol-lylane Renaissance doses imported from Canada, resulting in three success-ful daughters.

“They’ve all been good cows,” Karin says.

“We decided that if we wanted to keep milking cows we wanted a herd we could be proud of and enjoy milking,” Corey adds.

“It is great to be able to show them with the rest of the country and see where they stack up.

“We’ve got high produc-tion, high index and high type cows, but overall it’s a great herd which is a pleasure to milk.”

The Couch family farm often plays host to inter-national visitors – who always comment positively about the look of the herd.

Apart from looking good, the herd is also productive with cows

averaging about 7500 litres per year.

Although a third genera-tion dairy farmer and hav-ing spent all his 38 years on the 136 hectare south-west Victorian farm, Corey had no interest in showing cattle until he met Karin in her native America.

From a stud jersey farm in upstate New York, Karen had been showing cows “since the time I could be on the end of a lead strap”.

Karin had a lot of suc-cess in those early days, and promptly spread her passion for showing to Corey.

The couple met at the national jersey show in Kentucky in 1996.

“Corey had never shown before, but I sucked him into it,” Karin says. “Now he’s worse than I am with it.”

Their five children aged two to 11 are following in the family footsteps. Sons Jackson and Brody finished second and fifth in their

respective classes in the youth show at Interna-tional Dairy Week.

The famous cow is now back as part of the milking herd of 200 at the Couch farm, but they are not dis-counting a return bid for a hat trick of titles in 2012. But with some fresh faces!

Ivy’s only task at hand is to live long and give some more daughters with the

help of Embryo transfer.“We’ll definitely go

again next year, it’s our an-nual holiday,” Karin says.

The Couches also hope to continue the successful breeding line. Riverside Renaissance Ivy II has three daughters, but Corey and Karin haven’t been able to part with them.

“We’d like if she had enough daughters that we

could be prepared to sell some,” Corey says.

Although now enjoying a run of success, Corey and Karin almost parted with the calf.

“Anyone could have had her when she was just two weeks old,” Corey says. “We offered the pick of the three calves at Dairy Week in 2004, but couldn’t get the reserve.”

The couple thanked fit-ter Matt Templeton, Lind-say and Sandra Thompson and their family, where Renaissance Ivy II has been living in Tasmania for the past 18 months.

“Without their help we could not have achieved all that we have with Ivy.”

[Thompson family shows Australian champion, page 14.]

Eye-catching Jersey named Grand Champion

The cow is now back as part of the milking herd of 200.

Corey Couch holds the IDW Supreme Jersey cow, while wife Karin and children Jackson, Ruby, Ethan, Ella and Brody display the spoils.

INTERNATIONAL DAIRY WEEK WINNERS

WHO: Corey and Karin Couch

WHERE: Nirranda

WHAT: IDW Supreme Jersey Exhibit

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NEWS

IAN HUBBLE

THE OWNERS of this year’s International Dairy Week Australian Champion were breeding heifers and cows to show as a hobby up until six years ago, when they decided to take it to the next level.

The decision paid off last month when Lindsay and San-dra Thompson, their daughter Lisa and her partner Matt Templeton, won Australian Champion, Supreme Exhibit, Senior Champion and Best Udder with their five-year-old Holstein cow, Fairvale Morty Lady 51.

The Thompson’s ‘Linsand Farms’ operates as a commer-cial dairy enterprise at Bracknell, southwest of Launces-ton, Tasmania.

The decision to focus more heavily on breeding and selection of stock for showing was led by Lisa, a Dookie College agribusiness graduate, who worked with the Rural Finance Corporation in Gippsland after graduation before returning to the family farm.

Cattle are prepared by Lisa and Matt, a professional cow fitter who travels around Australia, New Zealand and the United States preparing cows for show.

All 220 cows on the Thompson’s property are registered with Holstein Australia. Any stock with potential are iden-tified early on in their life and monitored for conformation and other attributes.

They are then kept as a separate herd in a small paddock with an open-sided shed – for shelter – at least six months prior to showing. They also receive specialised attention and feeding.

The Thompson farm value-adds by achieving premium grade milk, cropping potatoes, breeding and showing cat-tle, as well as selling elite stock, progeny and embryos.

Lindsay and Sandra previously farmed at Ringarooma and Longford, before the urban sprawl and an inability to expand saw them move to the current farm seven years ago.

This property was converted from a beef/sheep opera-tion eight years before, with the previous owner having devoted much effort to development of infrastructure.

Their operation comprises 294 hectares, including the home block of 202ha, featuring sandy loam soil.

It is divided into 30 paddocks, enabling three strip feeds in each. Rotations are 25 days in spring and out to 60 days in winter.

A 30 megalitre (ML) storage dam and a bore capable of 1.2 ML per day allows 40ha to be irrigated using a gun and hose irrigator. About 120 ML of water is used each year for crops and some pasture irrigation. Twelve hectares of potatoes are grown on contract for a processing company and about 8ha of maize is grown for pit silage.

A 92ha block, also comprising sandy loam soil, across the road from the house block was bought three years ago and this is used for hay production and running replace-ments and dry cows. This block comprises five paddocks

Commercial farm value adds through breeding heifers

WHO: Thompson Family WHERE: Bracknell WHAT: Australian Champion Cow

THE THOMPSONS are looking to do things better – with less cows and some smart thinking.

Lindsay’s goal is “two million litres from milking 200 cows all year”, which would require producing an additional 400,000 - 500,000 litres from 20 fewer cows.

Lindsay plans to build a 300 cow feed pad, situated next to a 40m by 20m shed, enclosed on two sides,

to shelter the cows at night during winter.

He has researched this through a visit to Nowra, NSW, knowledge of a similar setup in Tasmania and information from New Zealand.

The feed pad and shed is expected to pay for itself in 3-5 years, through reduced feed wastage and increased production. Lindsay says warmer air temperatures in the shed at night

will result in cows devoting more feed energy to milk production rather than staying warm.

There are also expected benefits from better hoof condition and reduced lameness.

The Thompsons supplied National Foods – where they won a trip to the US for consistent milk quality – until late last year, when they changed to Fonterra due to their wish to expand production.

Reduce cows, lift production

of pasture, 20ha of bush and a handy 24ha of stony, hilly ground.

The farm enjoys consistent seasons and a reliable 900 mm rainfall. Winters are often very wet and cold, with the last two years wet up until mid-November, which has im-pacted production.

Soil tests are performed annually on the cropping ground and every second year for the pasture paddocks. Pasture fertiliser is applied in split applications to most of the farm each year to provide around 30kg of P and 85kg of K per ha.

About 20ha of crop ground is re-sown each year and two-thirds of the farm has been sown in new pasture spe-

cies during the last seven years.

A mix of long rotation, low endophyte, perennial ryegrass, Italian ryegrass, and white and red clover has brought benefits in pas-ture yield and palatability – and milk yield. The newer pastures also “hang on” in drier summers.

The Thompsons milk all year round. Calving is split, with 60% calving in spring and 40% during autumn. The autumn-calving herd is dried off at the beginning of Janu-ary to calve on March 1, while the spring cows are dried off at the end of June to calve on Sept 1 in an attempt to avoid the wet.

The herd is milked in a 30-unit swingover herringbone that is located in the centre of the home block and has the potential to milk 400 cows. Automatic cup removers were added four years ago, with immediate benefits realised for reduced cell count and mastitis.

Up to 50 calves can be fed through a two-station auto-matic calf feeder in a drive-through calf shed.

The Thompsons currently achieve 1.5 - 1.6 million litres of milk, with an average production per cow of 284kg milk fat and 242kg protein.

This is achieved from direct pasture intake from grazing and feeding 1.4t grain per cow.

Other feed includes 500t maize made into pit silage, 900 bales of silage made from pasture from re-sown cropping ground, 450 rolls of pasture hay made on the run block, and 300 rolls of purchased grass straw.

Additional to pasture and grain, winter feed, consist-ing of grass silage and maize silage and straw, is mixed in a feed wagon and fed out to milking cattle.

Lindsay Thompson on his Bracknell, Tas, property, home of this year’s International Dairy Week Australian Champion.

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Tiller density is key to pastureperformance. The more tillers aplant produces, the higher thepotential yield and persistence– and the denser the pasturecanopy, the less potential weedinvasion.

Cropmark Seeds has anItalian ryegrass that trials andfarmer experience show is

excelling in this department.Sonik has been scientifically

evaluated in 23 on-farm trialsthroughout Victoria and lowerNSW. Cropmark agronomist forGippsland and NorthernVictoria, Adam Sheedy, says thevariety really vindicates hiscompany’s breeding focus ontiller density.

“Right from the first trials, itwas very obvious that Sonik hadsignificantly higher tiller densitythan other Italian and annualryegrasses we compared it with.”

“We undertook a tiller countanalysis in six trials and Sonikhad 20% higher tiller densitythan the next highest variety, butup to 50% more tillers than other

varieties tested.”This might not be immediate

obvious from a casual glance,he says.

“Plant growth habit can bedeceiving. Some grasses,through their very uprightgrowth habit, may look flashyand impressive, but unless theyhave high tiller density, the yield

simply won’t be there.”“We are seeing this on farms

throughout the region. Sonik isshowing consistently higherproduction across autumn,winter and spring – and, whererainfall allows it, it will persistfor a good 18 to 24 months ormore. Its high metabolisableenergy content is also showingup in excellent livestockperformance, be it liveweightgain in lambs or milk in the vat.”

Farmer feedback is bearingthis out.

Merv Koch, a dairy farmer atTongala in the Goulburn Valley,was impressed with Sonik’splant density: “I see it as a bigimprovement on past varietiesI’ve sown. Even though it wasa very wet winter, the Sonikhandled the wet well. It alsogrew after each drop of rain wehad. The grazings have beenshort rounds of 20-25 days onaverage and the Sonik recoversquickly after a hard grazing.”

“I was very happy with theway the stock performed on it,too. I will definitely be sowingSonik again.”

Lionel Woods, dairy farmerat Colac in the Western Districts,is a strong advocate of Sonikunder his farming system.

“Sonik is an amazing grass.It just blows me away how wellit performs. I have grown lotsof other Italian ryegrasses butthis is definitely the best. I havehad more grazings off it than Ican believe.”

In spring, Lionel shut up theSonik for silage. “In one 2hectare paddock, we bailed 45rolls of silage weighing about500kg each. At 60% dry matterper roll, that’s 6.8 tonnes of drymatter per hectare in silagealone! We have had two grazingsoff it since cutting it for silagethis spring. The Sonik also hangson for so long at the end of theseason. I am just so impressedwith it.”

Tyson Sinclair was veryimpressed with the pasturequality and palatability of Sonikon his dairy farm dairy farmerat Cooriemungle in the WesternDistricts.

“My cows graze Sonik likeno other Italian ryegrass. Theyleave nothing after grazing it. Iam topping other Italianryegrasses, but because the cowslike the Sonik so much I haven’thad to top any of the Sonikpaddocks. We have tried otherryegrasses but just keep comingback to Sonik - it’s just so lush.”

Sonik – thewinter feed champion

Sonik – rapid establishmentand strong winter activityTake the worry out of winter feeding.Sonik is the winter feed champion, with rapid establishment andstrong growth rates over autumn, winter and spring providing afeed platform you need for great livestock performance.

Sonik is ideal for over-sowing into run-out or damaged pastures,rejuvenating paddocks or for full cultivation as short term(1-2 year) specialist pastures.

Sonik has excellent tiller density for higher yield, persistenceand better ground cover.

Cows graze Sonik like no otherItalian ryegrass. They leavenothing after grazing it. I amtopping other Italian ryegrassesbut because the cows like theSonik so much I haven’t hadto top any of the Sonikpaddocks. We have tried otherryegrasses but just keep comingback to Sonik - it’s just so lush.Tyson Sinclair – dairy farmer,Cooriemungle, Western Districts

For further information on Sonik, contactour regional agronomists:Western Districts, SA, Tasmania:Jason Hill – 0427 607 375North & East Victoria, NSW:Adam Sheedy – 0428 132 096

SONIK IS AVAILABLE FROM YOUR LOCAL SEEDMERCHANT OR FARM MERCHANDISE OUTLET

Trial DataTo view the performance of Sonik in trials, visit ourweb site: www.cropmark.com.au/Trial-Data.aspx

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OPINIONRUMINATING

Dairy News Australia is published by RNG Publishing Limited. All editorial copy and photographs are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions or comments expressed within this publication are not necessarily those of the staff, management or directors of RNG Publishing Limited.

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Printed by PMP Print

EDITORIAL

Not againTHE NAMES of civil servants and former members of parliament leapt out of this year’s Australia Day honours list.

Former treasurer Peter Costello re-ceived a top gong for services to the national economy. Hang on a minute, wasn’t that his job? The job he was paid to do! Are these accolades really neces-sary?

We’d like to see more gongs go to the thousands of volunteers across the country who spend their weekends, and even annual leave, working for charities and community groups. That would be an award well-worth celebrating.

Helping handTHUMBS UP to the six dairy organisations that have contributed $50,000 each to the Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation’s flood appeal.

The $300,000 will be used to support around 350 dairy farmers and their families who have been impacted by the devastating Queensland floods.

The organisations are: Bega Cheese; Tatura Milk Industries Limited; War-rnambool Cheese and Butter; Fonterra; Murray Goulburn Cooperative Co. Ltd and The Geoffrey Gardiner Dairy Foundation.

No BSWE HAVE always liked the distinct lack of BS from new Victorian deputy pre-

mier and Nationals leader Peter Ryan.He gave the wider community a taste

of this recently when the media tried to take him to task for speeding in Decem-ber – only days after being sworn in as Police Minister.

“I was going too fast. I have got to slow down,” he told reporters, matter of factly. No spin, no BS, just the facts.

When the reporters tried to pin him on whether it was a fixed or mobile speed camera (we’re not sure why that matters either), he told them:

“I don’t know. What I know is...I have to slow down.”

Let’s hope he retains the same can-dour throughout his reign as deputy premier.

Nice pair of shanksREADERS WILL know our feelings about the need for more promotion of milk.

Whether it’s promotion for generic milk, or for branded milk, we don’t care – but we’d like to see some sports stars promoting the health benefits of the product.

The New Zealand red meat board has regularly sponsored its best athletes and has “won gold” by choosing good, wholesome types who have won at major international events, including the Olympics.

Beef & Lamb NZ has recently hitched its wagon to Kiwi cyclist Alison Shanks, who will judge its industry event, The Glammies – aka The Golden Lamb Awards.

Shanks has even landed herself a new nickname: Lamb! It has been good pro-motion and something that would be good for our dairy industry. Now I hear that Thorpie has announced he’s competing at the London Olympics in 2012...

MILKING IT...

EVERYONE ASSOCIATED with the dairy industry will have choked on their brekkie when they opened the newspaper and saw Coles trumpeting its house brand milk for $1 a litre.

“Because we all buy milk, we’ve brought the price of Coles Brand Milk down. Down and staying down, every day!”

Coles knows milk is a staple product that families in particular go through litres and litres of a week and it wants their custom. It will take a loss on that milk just to attract mothers into their stores to complete the week’s shopping.

It’s the rest of the items on the shopping list that will enable Coles to make money, particularly if they raise the prices of these items to offset the cost of milk.

Woolworths and Aldi both said the price drop was unsustaina-ble, before promptly slashing their own milk prices to match Coles.

Coles says its decision to slash the price of a two litre bottle of full cream milk by 47 cents (and light milk by 99 cents) won’t affect the farmgate price. However, testimony at the 2009 Senate inquiry into competition and pricing in the Australian dairy industry clearly states otherwise.

National Association of Retail Grocers of Australia (NARGA) chairman John Cummings told the Senate Economics Committee handling that inquiry that processors supplying milk for house brands would be doing so at a loss – threatening their private brands.

As the supermarket share increases, and more milk goes into their house brands, there will be less return back down the value chain to the processor and thus back to the farm gate.

Supermarkets are appealing to consumers who have less money in the budget after rising electricity, gas and water costs.

The Federal Government has been quiet on the issue, but it must act. It has not yet issued a response to the report from the Senate inquiry, released last May.

The report’s findings have the potential to deliver greater fair-ness across the supply chain, particularly when it came to the vi-ability of dairy farmers.

The inquiry’s recommendations seek to overcome the current imbalance of power between the supermarkets and dairy farmers.

The Government has to act before the impact of these decisions drive farmers to the wall.

The price cut on light milk is 33%. How many other businesses could remain competitive if the price for their end product was slashed by that amount overnight?

Government must act on supermarket power


OPINION

REGIONAL AUSTRALIA is central to the nation-building opportunities ahead for the country.

Genuine regional development must be a Government priority in 2011 and beyond – not just to rebuild what we’ve lost – but to make it better and spur genuine opportunities for future growth.

At the same time, we can finally tackle Australia’s population explosion that has our major capital cities perpetually squeezed, while the regions cry out for people, services, infrastructure, businesses and employees.

That’s the commitment needed from the Prime Minister, who has the scope to chart a true vision for Australia.

Our priority right now is naturally with those communities across the country counting the costs of the recent floods. Their immediate needs are paramount.

However, looking ahead, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity. Debate over the long-term sustainability of Australia’s population has had scant attention since the 2010 Federal Election.

The Government’s Inter-Generational Report projecting an Australian population of 36 million by 2050 is as valid today as when it was released on February 1, 2010. Nothing has changed!

Mounting congestion in Australian cities will only compound unless governments, at all levels, recognise and act on regional development and the role it must play in relieving this stress.

Government reviews and studies of long-term ponderings on population have a place, but gabfests are no substitute for political decision-making and action. The obvious solution has been neglected for too long – build and develop regional Australia.

Mountains of studies have identified massive job vacancies in regional Australia, but people in our crowded cities are understandably reluctant to grasp the opportunities because relocating to regional areas means putting up with sub-par services.

The NFF has proposed a series of solutions – includ-ing tax breaks, domestic relocation, immigration and infrastructure – that are now more pertinent than ever.

Regional development must not be seen through the limitations of current regional population. But with the population potential, developing new commercial hubs and alleviating our choking cities.

Genuine tax incentives – and the commercial opportunities they drive – are essential to major businesses setting up substantial and long-standing operations in regional areas. With businesses come more jobs, prosperity, and growing communities.

Governments can’t make people move to regional areas, but by creating the case for businesses to start-up or relocate operations off the back of innovative and worthwhile tax advantages, people will follow the employment opportunities.

It’s an investment long overdue, but it’s also a solution to Australia’s unsustainable coastal city-centric population headache. Our major cities

already suffocating from under the weight of a national population of only 22 million people.

Previously we calculated that over 100,000 jobs – 80,000 for skilled labour and 22,000 entry-level positions – need to be filled in agriculture for farms to return to full production.

Once flood-recovery is fully underway, work needed in regional Australia will see those numbers grow exponentially.

As part of a major shake-up in population strategy, the NFF is calling on government to commit to:• Domestic relocation –

the bulk of unemployed Australians are in capital cities. Therefore, policies must attract them to regional areas via a combination of carrot and stick

approaches.• Infrastructure – both

soft and hard upgrades (not mere replacement of what flood waters stripped away) are vital. These will give people confidence in essential services for themselves and their families.

• Tying migrants to regional locations – that is, requiring new

migrants to live and work in regional areas.

• 457 visa rethink – the Rudd Government axed the regional concessions for migrants temporarily working in Australia. This move must be reversed.Australians will not be

encouraged to move to regional Australia if there is a view that governments

are acting in a way that is counter-productive to regional growth.

That is why, for example, it is critical that the Murray-Darling Basin Plan must be considered in light of social, economic and environmental impacts.

It is why, with regional Australia’s infrastructure having languished in disrepair for decades,

our basic obligation is to make flood-affected areas accessible once more. Then we can undertake a national audit of transport and freight infrastructure needs – now and into the future – to map out and drive greater efficiencies, growth and prosperity.

Jock Laurie is president of the National Farmers Federation.

Don’t just rebuild, chart a true vision for Australia

JOCK LAURIE

Gabfests are no substitute for political decision-making and action.

Genuine regional development must be a priority - not just to rebuild what we’ve lost with the floods.

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A2 CORPORATION plans to build a $10 million processing plant in Australia after receiving $4 million via a share placement.

The specialist milk products manufacturer has received the money from its cornerstone investors AMP Capital Investors (New Zealand) and Freedom Foods Group.

AMP Capital agreed to buy 30 million ordinary shares – at 10 cents apiece – an investment of $3 million. Meanwhile, Freedom Foods is exercising a capital raising right to subscribe to 9.1 million shares – or $910,000 – to maintain its 23% holding in the company.

The remainder of the $7.5 million project will be funded by an asset finance facility provided by the company’s bankers.

The company says it is pleased with the endorsement of the milk processing facility and

support from its two cornerstone shareholders.The processing and packaging plant is being

purpose-built, to supply demand in New South Wales and will be leased under a long-term

arrangement with an option to purchase. Production is expected to come on-line later this year.

A2 Corporation produces dairy products

that only contains the A2 type of beta casein protein, which it claims reduces the risk of several health conditions including heart disease, digestion problems and childhood diabetes. Standard milk contains both A1 and A2 beta casein proteins.

Product for markets in other Australian states will continue to be sourced from existing external processors.

Freedom Foods became a shareholder in May 2010, after A2 bought out its 50% stake in joint venture A2 Dairy Products in exchange for shares. This happened after the two companies called off merger talks, which would have created a $62 million ASX-listed company.

A2 shares were unchanged at NZ 8 cents on the NZAX and have traded infrequently in a tight range for much of the year.

PETER BURKE

FONTERRA IS conduct-ing a feasibility study into establishing a dairy farm in India, similar to its opera-tions in China.

Peter Moore, Fonterra’s general manager interna-tional milk sourcing and operations, says the study is in the early stages and it will be some time before a decision is made.

“We’re just having a very preliminary look as to whether there’s an oppor-tunity for us there or not,” he told Dairy News Aus-tralia. “It would be a simi-lar operation to what we have in China. Obviously it has a different climate and dif-ferent challenges, but a similar type of operation.”

Moore says de-termining what breed or crossbreed would perform best in the Indian environ-ment is one of the factors being investigated.

“We can’t give you these answers because we don’t have them ourselves,” he says.

Moore says it will take some time to fully under-stand the operating envi-ronment – no different to the way the China decision was made.

“A great deal of work was done on China before a decision was made to build our first pilot farm. We need to understand the opportunity and the chal-lenge – as well as the risks of undertaking such a ven-ture.”

Meanwhile, work on de-veloping Fonterra’s second farm in China is progress-ing – despite the freezing

winter elements.Moore says the founda-

tions at its new $A32 mil-lion farm are in and some of the external walls have also been erected. Work will begin in earnest in the spring.

The Yutian farm will house about 5500 animals, including 3200 milkers.

Some of these animals will come from New Zea-land and others will come from young stock bred at Fonterra’s farm at Hangu, close to the nearby city of Tangshan. The milking parlour will be different at Tangshan and include some new technology.

Moore says improving cow comfort means using sand instead of wood shav-ings, where the cows can lay down when they are not feeding or being milked.

Attention is also being paid to improving the qual-ity of the walk-ways, which take the cows from their feeding area to the milking parlour.

Moore says a lot of effort has gone into improving waste management sys-tems on the new farm and this will lessen its environ-mental footprint.

There are no problems sourcing feed for the cows at Yutian, as a lot of maize is grown in the area and contracts have been nego-tiated with local farmers to supply this. The Yutian farm is scheduled for com-pletion at the end of the year.

AGRIBUSINESS

The second Chinese farm should be finished by December.

A2 Corp is pleased with the support of its two cornerstone share holders.

Fonterra looks to India

A2 builds Sydney plant

These heifers currently being raised at Fonterra's Tangshan farm in China will transfer to the new Chinese property in November.

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AGRIBUSINESS

THE PAST dec-ade has seen many changes in the Australian dairy industry and none more significant than in the way milk is used in the vari-ous states of Aus-tralia.

After being fully opened to market forces, the industry has responded in a way that econo-mists would have suggested structural adjustment would occur.

The ‘Changing milk utilisa-tion’ chart clearly shows the impacts of these developments in how milk is used across the states over the past decade.

Looking firstly at the Austral-ian picture, one can see how the combination of a steadily grow-ing domestic market - in both population numbers and per capita consumption terms - and drought-affected total milk pro-duction volumes have signifi-

cantly reduced the proportion of milk available for the export sector.

This is down from around 60% in 2000 to 45% in 2010. Hence drinking milk and manu-factured product for the domestic market has now

become much more important.In Queensland, – now very

much a “drinking milk” state – the industry has adjusted to be-

come one which basically sup-plies fresh product as drinking milk to the local market.

The productive capacity to

provide manufactured product and export product has moved to those regions with the low-est milk production costs – most notably Victoria. The same trend has also occurred in both Western Australia and New South Wales, but to a lesser ex-tent at this point in time.

One can see this trend con-tinuing in the west, although perhaps not quite to the extent as seen in Queensland – due to the logistics challenges of alter-native supply at those times of the year when it can be particu-larly difficult to balance supply

to market demand.The situation in

New South Wales is one of a very diverse state. The northern and central regions are focussed on sup-plying fresh prod-uct to the domestic market. Meanwhile,

its southern regions are more closely aligned with the south-ern “export” states.

In South Australia, the do-

mestic market has become rela-tively more important to milk produced in that state; while the use of milk in producing manu-factured product in Victoria has lifted significantly with the steady concentration of produc-tive capacity in that state over the last decade.

Nevertheless, the absolute volume of milk produced in

Victoria – at nearly two-thirds of Australia’s total milk produc-tion – together with the signifi-cant distances, and therefore costs, in providing fresh dairy products to the urban centres in the other states, means that Victoria remains very much in-volved in supplying the export sector.

Tasmania is the only state

where the mix of milk utilisa-tion has remained virtually un-changed over the past decade. The combination of a small do-mestic population and generally very conducive climatic condi-tions for dairying; means Tas-mania also remains an “export” state.

Peter Wilson is Dairy Australia’s Industry Analyst.

INTERNATIONAL DAIRY prices are ex-pected to rise this year and underpin at-tractive margins over input costs for farm-ers in dairy export regions, according to Rabobank’s latest Australian Agriculture in Focus report.

The annual report says the outlook indi-cates a period of sustained profitability for most Australian dairy producers, although managing volatility will remain an issue.

It predicts Russia will emerge as a key export market for dairy this year, and Chi-nese demand will continue.

Rabobank says the outlook for Austral-ian agriculture is generally optimistic. However, it warns that several challenges will need to be effectively managed in or-der to turn “positive signs into a profit-able year”.

Rabobank’s Food & Agribusiness Re-search and Advisory General Manager, Justin Sherrard, says a mix of higher prices across most agricultural com-modities and ongo-ing volatility is set to characterise the year ahead in the global food and agribusiness sector.

“Last year saw a strengthening of glo-bal demand for agricultural commodities, along with frequent supply shocks, and subsequent tightening of the balance be-tween supply and demand.

“This year looks, on balance, a year of robust support to agri-commodity prices at elevated levels,” Sherrard says “How-ever, there is the prospect of greater vola-tility, along with unexpected shocks, as the extensive flooding in Queensland and Victoria at the start of the year should re-

mind us.” The report adds that volatility in agri-

commodity markets is set to increase in 2011, due to the current tight state of global markets, along with heightened activity of investment funds and potential trade re-strictions.

“Tightness in global markets, coupled with low stocks, leaves little scope to ab-sorb supply-side shocks – like the recent drought in Russia which caused prices to jump markedly,” Sherrard says. “Invest-ment funds have also flowed back into agri-commodity markets, mainly in re-sponse to the bullish fundamentals.

“In addition, there is the potential for trade restrictions, such as export bans,

import limits and tariffs, being put in place by developing countries to pro-mote domestic food production and en-sure food is afford-able locally.”

Rabobank expects the Australian dol-lar to remain at near parity with the US

dollar, with potential for weakening by the year’s end.

“In Rabobank’s view, the fundamentals that have driven the Australian dollar in the past 12 months will reassert them-selves in 2011,” the report says.

“Strong domestic growth, robust terms of trade, a widening interest rate differ-ential and a structurally weak US dollar are likely to keep the Australian dollar at around the parity mark.”

The most important response to a high Australian dollar is for the food and agri-business sector to focus on increasing pro-ductivity, Sherrard says.

World dairy prices to rise: Rabobank

Domestic consumption rises

GLOBAL IMPACTPETER WILSON

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

2000 2010 2000 2010 2000 2010 2000 2010 2000 2010 2000 2010 2000 2010

QLD NSW VIC SA WA TAS AUST

Drinking milk Manufactured product Exports

Changing milk utilisation

A growing domestic market has reduced the proportion of milk available for export.

The Australian dollar will remain at near parity with the US dollar, weakening by year’s end.

SP

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DNPHONE 1300 766 560

highsugargrass.com.au SEE the facts


MANAGEMENT

RICK BAYNE

THE STONY Rises, near Colac, are aptly named.

While the soil is rich with nutrients and the rainfall consistently good, the land is disrupted by a vast number of basalt rocks caused by volcanic activity from thousands of years ago.

Some of the hilly, heavily wooded land remains impossible to clear, but the outskirts of the Stony Rises is prime dairying country – if the rocks don’t get in the way.

In years gone by some of the rocks were turned into the region’s famous dry-stone walls. How-ever, at nearby Pombor-neit, dairy farmer Ben Bennett is one of those who has cleared his land to improve productivity. The property is surrounded by 18 kilometres of stone wall fences, a remnant of a trade all-but lost in the modern era.

But when Ben took over the farm, much of it was too rocky to grow good crops. He describes the decision to clear his paddocks as a “no brainer”.

“Why wouldn’t you do it? I’m stand-ing now in a paddock where I’ve had a four-tonne Lucerne yield. I wouldn’t have got anywhere near that without clearing the rocks.”

Ben’s 300-hectare property is in an area previously closely-associated with dairying, although that has diminished in recent decades.

“The history of the area is in dairy farming – we’ve brought it into the 21st century,” he says.

The Bennett family purchased the property nearly six years ago after mov-ing from New Zealand and spending a year working in the meat industry, while looking for a suitable property. At the time, it was heavily overgrown with weeds with mainly a day and night pad-dock in use for farming.

“There’s no money in cape weed, but

we saw the potential. We were behind the eight ball from the start – there was no real pasture, just weeds,” Ben adds.

They also had to endure three years of drought and a bushfire, which burnt a third of their land.

“But after a lot of heartache we can see a light at the end of the tunnel,” Ben told Dairy News.

He says that low cost farming was essential and good pasture was the key to achieving that. “We’ve now got 90% ef-fective land. Most of it wasn’t arable when we started.

“We aimed to get the farm to its critical mass. We don’t want to be buy-ing in imports. We feed grain for six months of the year now, but aim to reduce that to five.

“It is critical to get support from your bank, which we did,” Ben adds.

“A mortgage is a real wake-up call and necessity is the mother of inven-tion so you do what you have to, to make it work. They say there’s no gain without pain. Hopefully we’re through the worst of the pain.”

The Bennetts believe a gradual clear-ing of their land, using a rock crushing machine and planting of good pastures, with a particular focus on Lucerne, was the best way to develop their farm.

“We had the rock crusher in over four seasons, doing a bit at a time. We’d crush the rocks and convert them into the land and then plant the pasture.”

The farm is now heading in the right direction.

“I always say you have to farm for a drought, but if it’s not your creditors will be happy.”

The wet season during 2010 has

helped. Although silage came off about two months later than usual, the farm is now flush with good yields.

“Last year we used about a third of the silage we produced and this year we’ve made three times as much and counting,” Ben adds.

“We’ve got so much hay we’re going to have to sell some. This goes against my principles, but helps the cash flow.”

Ideally, Ben would like to increase his herd of 400 cross-breed cows, but that has taken a back-seat until the farm’s

cash flow improves.Millicent-based Garry Davies – who

calls himself the ‘Stone Killer’ – has been in the bulldozing business for 15 years. During that time he’s developed his own method of helping landown-ers to deal with troublesome rocks and boulders.

His 90-tonne roller does the bulk of the work.

“It’s pretty simple really,” he says. “We just roll the material and mix the crushed stones into the soil.”

The bulk of his work comes from dairy farms and he works on properties across south-east South Australia and Western Victoria. He has seen thou-sands of hectares of previously unpro-ductive land transformed into prime dairying country.

“We turn very ordinary country into

very good land,” he says.The rock crushing business got un-

derway when Garry was visiting a client who owned a vineyard in south-west South Australia, near his home base of Millicent.

“He was picking the stone up and moving it. He was on a hiding to noth-ing. I said why don’t you smash it and crush it and leave it there. We got the big roller and started breaking it up.”

Garry says the crusher would work for a variety of industries, but was par-ticularly well-suited to dairying in ar-eas of rocky terrain.

“Every place and paddock is differ-ent, but it can break through anything. You can do the limestone in South Aus-tralia or the volcanic rocks in Victoria – you can find two or three different types of stones in one paddock.”

Crushing rocks reveals prime country

WHO: Ben Bennett WHERE: Pomborneit WHAT: Rock Crushing

“We’ve now got 90% effective land. Most of it wasn’t arable when we started.”

Ben Bennett used a rock crusher to crush basalt rocks and grow lucerne for his dairy herd.

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For Scott McKillop, a reliablesource of winter feed is essentialto his pasture renovationprogramme.

“I look to annual ryegrassfor quality winter feed, beforegoing into a perennial pasture

“It has a great dense canopy,too. The cows always milk wellon it and they graze it down tothe ground. Being a late-maturing annual, you get greaterquality than the cheaper, shortervarieties. I will continue to sowZoom in the future.”

ZoomTM tetraploid annualryegrass is the latest release fromCropmark Seeds. It is aspecialized winter feed. Sownin the autumn, it is an idealwinter feed crop for farmerswanting bulk feed for 6–10months before ploughing up fora summer crop.

We l l n a m e d , Z o o mestablishes rapidly, and goes onto exhibit exceptional cool-season performance. In trialsconducted by Cropmarkthroughout Victoria, it hasoutperformed tradi t ionalWesterwolds annual ryegrassvarieties in autumn, winter andspring.

It is later-heading than manyof the traditional annualryegrasses, +17 days relative toNui. It stays vegetative forlonger, carrying its qualitylonger into spring than thecheaper annual ryegrasses.

Farmers say they are gettingmultiple grazings off their Zoompaddocks over the autumn,winter, and early spring beforeshutting up for silage or hay.

Scott McKillop – dairy farmer,Dederang


ZoomTM – theking of annual ryegrasses

ZoomTM is the latesttetraploid annual ryegrass fromCropmark Seed’s plant breeding programme.

ZoomTM is a specialist winter feed. An ideal break cropbetween maize and other crops, it is very quick to establishand shows exceptional autumn/winter growth and rapidre-growth. ZoomTM offers the advantages of excellentpalatability and high metabolisable energy content.

ZoomTM can provide multiple grazings over autumn andwinter before being shut up for high quality silage inthe spring.

I had 8 grazings off it last season.ZoomTM has a great dense canopy.The cows always milk well off it andgraze it down to the ground. Being alate maturing annual you get greaterquality than the cheaper shorter termvarieties.

Scott McKillop – dairy farmer, Dederang,Nth East Victoria

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the following autumn.”Scott milks 335 cows on 500

hectares at Dederang in NorthEast Victoria. When it comes tochoosing suitable pasturevarieties, he has a bit of ‘insiderunn ing’ — he was an

agronomist for well-knownVictorian forage seed company,Smyth Seeds of Benalla.

“ M y s e e d i n d u s t r ybackground makes me veryaware of the importance ofselecting the right variety.

Sowing a high performancevariety over a cheap variety paysfor i tself through extraproduction and quality,” Scottsays.

“When I was at SmythSeeds, we put a lot of effort intoevaluating pasture and foragevarieties to ensure those we sold

were actually adding value tofarming systems. ZoomTM wasan annual ryegrass thatimpressed me wi th i t sperformance and quality.”

“When I came back to thefamily farm, which is drylandwith a 900mm rainfall, I wasconvinced Zoom would fit wellhere. I have sown it for the pastthree years now. Last season Igot eight grazings off it.”

“This year the Zoom hadfantastic autumn growth. I havegrazed it five times and I willgraze it again. It bounces backquickly in the winter monthsand gives valuable feed.”


MANAGEMENT

DURING THE past month, I have received many calls regarding employment – the majority seeking clarification from people on whether they are em-ploying or being employed correctly.

It is not hard to see why there is so much confusion about employment in the dairy industry. We have different rules for different states and for different operating structures. We work variable hours – often seven days a week. We also have several levels of award. And – to top it all off – dairy operators are often time poor when it comes to keeping up with their business

administration.So where do we start to

get things right? My first suggestion is

to ensure - as employers and employees - we are familiar with ‘The People in Dairy’ website and its ‘People Advisors’ at www.thepeopleindairy.org.au . This site is targeted at helping with the answers to people questions and managing our people resource to develop long-term success in our businesses.

Let’s start with some of the basics, even though this will only scratch the surface.

Employers need to ensure their employees

are recording the hours worked in an accurate and regular fashion. This will provides the detail needed to ensure employees are being paid correctly for their efforts.

As a basic snapshot, employees are paid at normal rates for their first 152 hours worked over four weeks, then paid at

overtime rates for any hours worked over 152 during a four week period. They are paid double time for overtime worked on a Sunday, while any public holidays are paid at double time or by way of a day in lieu.

To manage this cor-rectly, employees’ wages and rates of pay need to be calculated and reviewed on a monthly basis – even if they are paid weekly or fortnightly. Of course there are some exceptions which relate to ‘Manag-ers’, but the discipline of recording hours should still be applied.

Employers and employees should also be

familiar with the Federal Pastoral Award 2010 and how this relates to the dairy industry. This sets the platform on how we engage employees

correctly. The Federal Pastoral Award can be found by following the links to Awards on the ‘Fair Work Australia’ website www.fwa.gov.au -

or you can find a link to it on my website.

Both employers and em-ployees should also be au fait with the correct clas-sification of permanent,

part time and casual employees and the respective require-ments of each. Per-manent is classified as 38

hours or greater per week and part-time is less than 38 hours. Meanwhile, casual is classified as on an as-needed basis and has different loadings

compared with a part time or permanent work.

As we start the new calendar year, make a decision to become an em-ployer of choice by learn-ing more about this part of your business. There are a number of resources out there to help those willing to put the effort in.

As I was told recently by a large employer: “People aren’t the problem they are the solution!”

Gavin McClay is a dairy based business consultant based in Victoria. He can be contacted on 0425 825 288, [email protected] or through his website: www.gavinmcclay.com.au

Sifting through employment awards

FARMING FOCUSGAVIN MCCLAY There are resources

available to help employers and employees.

EVAN MCINTYRE

THE LIFESPAN of recently established pasture is disappointing many farmers.

Within three to five years the older, lower fertility pasture species usually re-establish, leading to the conclusion there is a deficiency of other than the standard NPK, too much of which is usually applied.

A key to the answer lies in the subsoil, through which plant roots need access to the valuable and necessary nutrients in them, particularly for clovers to thrive.

Many farmers will have noticed the strong clover growth occurring around recently dug posthole or trenches that have been backfilled. This effect is somewhat similar to applying the rock or quarry dust some organic farmers buy and spread at a fairly high cost.

Ryegrass and clover roots should be reaching down 30 cm and more to the much needed nutrients in the subsoil, but on most farms 10 cm would be the norm and the roots often show a horizontal spread indicating a pan effect.

This shallow rooting of some plants, especially ryegrasses, is caused by the toxicity of aluminium (Al) which is antagonistic to Ca and P and visa versa. Many plants are sensitive to Al, which occurs in most soils, but its bad effects on plants is worse in soils needing more lime and/or phosphate.

Al has no known benefit for plants and

deficiencies don’t occur. If pasture levels are below 100 ppm it is a good sign. If levels are higher it will be shown by shallow rooting of ryegrass, which increases ryegrass pulling. Lime reduces Al availability.

Encouraging earthworm populations through correct liming and trace element applications is the best long term way to provide a porous friable soil structure in which plant roots can penetrate easily to lower subsoils. Earthworms bring deposits of valuable nutrients to the soil surface in the form of vermicast, on which plants thrive.

To fast track this effect and where the soil is low in earthworm numbers and cultivation is an option, chisel ploughing together with a optimum lime application will give the best of both worlds.

Cultivation by chisel ploughing deeply (30-40 cm), brings up valuable subsoil and creates deeper topsoils which build and hold more humus, allow deeper plant roots, better moisture retention and grow higher yielding plants. See grazinginfo.com > soils and cultivation

Deeper roots, into the subsoil, access the unknown and important minerals from below the top 15 cm of soil that have been mined of minerals by pasture and animals and, conversely, shallow roots grow less pasture and are more vulnerable to heat and drought stress, lowering production.

Evan McIntyre is an independent agricultural consultant based in New Zealand.

Deeper roots lifts profit

Priming your pastures pays off

This is one of the many examples of the dairy service levy at work. Farmers receive a benefit of $3 for each $1 invested by Dairy Australia on their behalf. For more information

on this and other levy investments visit www.dairyaustralia.com.au

Late summer and early autumn is the time when pastures are at their weakest.

Grazing pastures too short (<5 cm) or too soon (<2 leaves) during late spring - summer results in greatly reduced root density and depth, leading to more plant-pulling the following autumn.

Autumn is about rebuilding ryegrass density and setting up pasture production potential for the year.

It is important to refrain from letting cows eat pasture as soon as it grows to reduce autumn supplement use. This will restrict pasture growth for several rotations and possibly until the spring flush. Ultimately more supplements will be needed over the year, increasing the cost of milk production.

Take a long term view and feed supplements when pasture is in short supply, it helps set up pastures for the season ahead.

Here are tips on maximising ryegrass pasture performance in autumn:

1. High-density pastures produce more feed. Walk your paddocks before the autumn break and identify pastures that do not have adequate plant density. Restore the density by either direct-drilling perennial ryegrass or a carry out a full renovation (spray, cultivate and re-sow). Full renovation gives a more reliable result but could result in these paddocks being off-limits during winter if it is wet, so should be restricted to a limited portion of the farm to manage risk.

2. Ensure the existing plants are able to perform at their best. Begin autumn with a long rotation (say 60 days initially). Two

factors are involved – pasture cover and grazing intensity. Pasture growth rate is dependent on the amount of green leaf area turning sunlight into plant growth, so building up pasture mass will provide higher growth and more feed in the long run.

Plants weakened by summer growing conditions will be further weakened by repeated hard grazing and will grow less feed in the long run.

Once the target pasture cover is achieved, the rotation is altered as required to maintain this mass on the next pasture to be grazed.

3. Consider a sacrifice paddock. While pastures in a sacrifice paddock will be further weakened, those not grazed will be strengthened. Most pastures will grow faster, compared to paddocks grazed before they achieve ideal cover. When choosing a sacrifice paddock, look for ones relatively unproductive and/or due for renovation.

4. Use supplements to optimise re-growth. The importance of pasture residue is often overlooked. A residue after grazing of 5-6cm between the clumps will give highest ryegrass performance. If cows graze shorter than 5 cm, increase the level of supplement feeding. Decrease supplements if leaving more than 5 cm.

5. Control broad-leafed weeds. Competition from other species will limit the performance of ryegrass pasture. Strategic control of broad-leafed weeds can be easily achieved through spray-grazing at about six weeks after germination.


MANAGEMENT

EXTREMELY WET condi-tions can lead to higher rates of lameness in dairy cows.

As heavy rain and floods wash away the fine materials in farm tracks or laneways it exposes larger stones and gravel pieces, which have the potential to damage a cow’s hoof.

Prolonged exposure to moisture causes the hoof to soften, making bruising, penetration injuries and white-line disease more prevalent.

The skin between the toes and around the foot also softens and mashes-up leaving it more prone to infections such as footrot.

The overall cost of each case of lameness is estimated at $200-$300 a head – as it decreases the cow’s ability to graze, causes loss of milk produc-tion, leads to lowered reproductive performance. It also increases the chance

of a cow being culled and causes lost income through the additional cost of treat-ment.

Dairy Australia says the most common causes of lameness in extremely wet conditions or floods are:• Cows that stand in water

for days at a time. They will have their hoof walls and soles softened by the constant contact with moisture.

• Inter-digital skin. The usually hard skin between the claws – becomes soft, macerates (mashes up) – and forms cracks after long expo-sure to wet conditions. This skin is then prone to injury from any sharp object such as buck-shot, gravel or even crop stubble.

• Soft hooves. These are more prone to develop-ing fine cracks along the white line, especially if they are turning on abrasive concrete.

• Mud coating the feet and lower legs. This can conceal many other problems.Dairy Australia says

there are a number of strategies to help prevent lameness.

Patience in handling

stock is critical and the herd should be allowed to move slowly and given as much time as possible to choose where they place their feet. If there are sections of track washed away then allow the cows to work out their preferred alternative route even though this may take longer.

Minimise the use of the backing gate in the yard and let cows move into the shed at their own speed. Cows pushed up tight may result in sole injuries and loss of hoof sole as cows pivot on the concrete sur-face. Soft hooves are easily worn away by twisting and turning on abrasive concrete.

Protect cows’ hooves from rough surfaces by topping damaged tracks with sawdust, woodchips or limestone as a tem-porary fix in areas that have deteriorated during

wet condi-tions. This is particularly important for the last 20-30 meters in the lead up to the concrete

holding yards.Similarly, areas of con-

crete that pose a danger to hooves, including the entry on to the concrete cow turning areas, can be covered with carpet or matting in the short term.

A foot wash at yard entry will wash sand and small stones from the feet before they reach the concrete. Tracks should never be topped with road screenings, rough screed, broken concrete, large river stones or builder’s rubble.

If flooding and debris have created particularly muddy or rough areas, these should be removed or fenced off to prevent stock from accessing these hazards.

Any cow showing lameness should be removed from the herd and placed in a paddock near the milking shed. Farmers should also consider milking affected cows once a day.

Early examination and treatment of lame cows not only improves welfare, but also limits the financial losses from a loss of body condition, milk production and the culling of affected cows.

Using a mix of 5% formalin or 5% copper sulphate foot-baths or treated hoofmats may also be effective in preventing and treating large outbreaks of footrot and bacterial infections. Footbath chemicals can be dangerous and should be handled with care. Footbaths should be at

least 2.5m long, only used once-daily and the raceway through them should allow cows to go through in single file. They

Treated hoofmats can be placed on the way into the dairy to increase the time cows are standing on them. They should be recharged regularly and used at every milking.

Managing lameness after floods, rain

The overall cost of lameness is $200-$300 per head.

Heavy rain and floods wash away the fine material on farm tracks, exposing larger stones.

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That’s why dairy farmers stick with proven varieties Sungrazer T, Winter Star®II, Feast®II, and Banquet®II tetraploid ryegrasses. They provide a highly palatable feed base with increased intake that can lead to higher milk production. The rumen function is more efficient meaning tetraploids are broken down more quickly and completely in the rumen.

Not used our tetraploid ryegrasses before? Ask a neighbour who has!


MANAGEMENT

MELISSA SPAIN

BLOOD TESTING calves to work out their feed conversion efficiency may become common practice for dairy farmers.

New research into feed ef-ficiency has revealed signifi-cant differences between the most efficient and least efficient groups of heifers.

This research has shown that the most efficient calves eat 1.6kg of dry matter (DM) less than the least efficient calves for the same amount of live weight gain.

In the future, farmers will be

able to blood test calves at birth – or a few days old – to geneti-cally determine if they have the DNA markers for high feed con-version efficiency.

This will enable farmers to make better informed decisions about which replacement heif-ers they should invest money in.

The research is currently be-ing conducted by the Victorian Department of Primary Indus-tries (DPI) Biosciences and Fu-ture Farming Systems Research Divisions at Rutherglen, Victo-ria.

Some animals are more ef-ficient at converting feed (kilo-grams of dry matter intake)

into live weight (kilograms), meaning they require less feed for maintenance and produc-tion compared to the rest of the population.

The project focuses on meta-bolic feed efficiency, which is the net feed an animal consumes adjusted for its requirements for maintenance and production.

The metabolic feed conver-

sion efficiency is based on a measure known as the Residual Feed Intake (RFI). The RFI is the difference between the pre-dicted feed intake for an animal

–based on its body size and pro-duction level – and the amount that the animal actually con-sumes.

Over 900 calves, in three batches, have been weighed on

a regular basis and daily, dry matter intake for each has been recorded via an electronic feed recording system.

The animals containing a higher RFI (10%) and lower RFI (10%) of the sample population have been selected for further study.

Calves with the lowest RFI values are the most efficient at converting feed into live weight; they consumed 1.6 kilograms DM less than the 10% of calves with the highest RFI values for the same amount of live weight gain.

All animals that participated in this study will now have their

DNA mapped to investigate the differences between their DNA sequences.

Once the DNA markers are mapped, in the next stage of the trial, the link between feed conversion efficiency and milk production will be explored through a milking cow trial.

The research has shown that RFI genes for feed conversion ef-ficiency are inheritable, which suggests that in the future bulls will be able to be selected based on this trait – provided its eco-nomic value is large enough to impact on sire rankings.

Melissa Spain works with DPI, Echuca.

A NEW scanning device fitted to a four-wheel mo-torbike could revolutionise the way landholders plan their attacks on red-headed cockchafers.

The pest costs affected-Gippsland farmers an estimated $115,500 each a year – adding up to mil-lions of dollars for the Victorian dairy industry.

However, a specifically-designed remote sens-ing unit – fitted onto a quad bike – can now detect changes in electrical conductivity in grasses, and researchers believe these changes could indicate heavy infestations of red-headed cockchafers in the soil.

GippsDairy executive officer Danielle Auldist says early detection of infestation will allow farm-ers to break the breeding and development cycle of the insect.

“Up until now, the only way to tell if you had an infestation was to grab a shovel and start digging,” Auldist says. “If this trial is successful, it will al-low farmers to identify where heavy infestations are and deal with the problem by ripping up the ground and destroying the grubs.”

DPI entomologist Dr Kevin Powell, who is lead-ing the research project, hopes to identify traits in pasture that indicate cockchafers are present. The Rutherglen scientist says the first stage of tri-als, which were conducted recently on Gippsland farms, would be followed-up this month to check how accurate the data is.

Researchers are investigating soil properties in

relation to the distribution of cockchafers.Rohan Marriott, who farms on irrigated and dry

land at Modella near Drouin, says early identifica-tion of infestations will need to be coupled with effective techniques of dealing with red- headed cockchafers.

Marriott says a heavy cockchafer attack two years ago, left him devastated financially and test-ed his resolve.

“Two years ago, they were across the whole farm, they didn’t discriminate between irrigated and non-irrigated paddocks – the whole farm basi-cally copped it,” he says.

“The milk price had dropped, and we had to over-sow the whole farm; so we lost production and the cost of bringing in feed hurt.”

The project has been a GippsDairy initiative, using dairy levy funds to utilise scientists from CSIRO, Dairy Australia, DPI, Melbourne Univer-sity, Latrobe University and Australian National University.

Part of the project involves farmers packaging and posting cockchafers to researchers for further

examination.GippsDairy is asking Gippsland farmers to dig

up a small patch of soil where they believe a red- headed cockchafer infestation has occurred.

If grubs or adult beetles are present in the soil sample, they should be dug out and placed in a plastic container with a mixture of 70 per cent methylated spirits and 30 per cent water for at least two days. The liquid can then be drained and

the specimen can be wrapped in tissue paper.Samples can be posted to GippsDairy at PO Box

1059, Warragul, 3820, with details of when and where the cockchafers were collected.

A survey is also being conducted – with infor-mation being sought from farmers – on the extent and severity of cockchafer problems on their land. Details of the survey are available at www.gipps-dairy.com.au

Cockchafers under attack

Blood test reveals feed efficient calves

Red-headed cockchafers cost the dairy industry millions of dollars annually.

Research shows the most efficient calves eat 1.6kg less dry matter than the least efficient calves for the same weight gain.

John Medway from Terrabyte is at the controls of the quad bike.

$5000 cash giveaway

Terms and Conditions: 1. This competition is being run by Vicseeds Production Pty Ltd (ABN 48 102 920 552), 1/3 Dowsett St, South Geelong. 2. This competition commences on the 1st February 2011 and closes at the close of business on the 17th June 2011. 3. The draw will take place in the Vicseeds office on the 20th June 2011 at 3.00 p.m. 4. Prize: There will be one prize draw with the first drawn tag being the winner of $5,000 CASH. 5. For full terms and conditions please visit the Vicseeds website www.vicseeds.com.au. NSW Permit No. LTPS/11/00338.

How to enter: Just purchase one or more 25 kg bags of Avalon or Avalon AR1 certified perennial ryegrass, remove the complete certified tags and mail together with your name, address and contact details to “Vicseeds Cash Giveaway” PO Box 1544 Geelong 3220.

Avalon perennial ryegrass is Australian bred for persistence, excellent winter and spring production, Avalon is available with wild type endophyte or the safe AR1 endophyte, Avalon suits all grazing enterprises


ANIMAL HEALTH

LIZ COTTON

AFTER MOVING home to the family farm, follow-ing time spent living and working in the Caribbean, Annabel Mangal began rearing and selling calves to local hobby farmers in the Adelaide Hills.

The business was ini-tially developed as a means to work on-farm at Nairne, SA, and not have to put her then one year old daughter, Alex, into full time day care. However, it soon grew into an extensive and diverse intensive farming operation.

A proponent of “you have to diversify to stay alive,” Mangal’s business – trading as Southern Trades Management (STM) – now encompasses contract calf rearing, cattle and sheep breeding, a wholesale meat business and a developing overseas venture.

In 2003, Mangal was approached by Dairy Beef Alliance (DBA) to contract rear calves.

As a Regional Manager, she has sourced from over 30 dairies throughout the major dairy regions in South Australia and rears between 500 and 1000 Wagyu-cross calves a year.

Calves are reared from three days to around 200kg at six months, before they are sent to Victorian feedlots and subsequent slaughter for export internationally.

In addition, STM – in conjunction with DBA – works with dairies from the Barossa to Victor Har-bor and the Adelaide Hills to Meningie, inseminating low-producing cows and heifers with DBA Wagyu by artificial insemination. This generates a value-added calf and an extra source of revenue for dairy farmers.

“The calves are run on their mothers and enter the DBA feedlots at 10 months, where they pay a premium of 30% above the eastern young cattle index.”

As a result of working closely with dairy opera-tions in South Australia, STM buys and rears around 300 Murray Grey and Angus-cross calves a year for sale to hobby farmers.

Mangal has also devel-oped a paddock-to-plate style wholesale meat busi-ness – selling farm-direct Wagyu/ Murray Grey cross beef to local butchers, hotels, restaurants and private consumers,

“This part of the busi-ness involves a dairy putting a Wagyu bull over Friesian heifers and pro-ducing around 70 calves,” she says. “I pick these up at 3 days old and slaughter at 10 months locally.”

To date, STM has raised more than 2000 Holstein Friesian bull calves for sale, 1000 beef-dairy cross calves sold locally, 10,000 Wagyu-Holstein calves under contract and 300 replacement dairy heifers.

The 360ha property has the capacity to rear 3000 calves a year – with room for expansion. At any given time, it houses 200 calves under two-weeks-old in separate pens (5 per pen), 200 2-8 week-old calves in weaner pens in groups of 10-15, 160 in weaner pens holding up to 80 8-12-week-old calves per pen and 300 in back-grounding lots for calves 90kg (3 months) to 250kg.

Having learnt the chal-lenging science and art of calf rearing through “trial and error”, training and support from DBA and ad-vice from other calf rearers – along with a good deal of hard work and persever-ance – Mangal believes one of the major secrets to suc-cess is a good understand-ing and practice of hygiene and disease control,

“Hygiene is the most important aspect of calf

rearing. It’s really a case of divide and conquer as calves adjust to people, place and feed changes.

“The first ten days are spent in small yards to acclimatise them to their new environment, get used to being without their mums, settle their diges-tive balance and, of course,

prevent any diseases spreading among the dif-ferent herds.”

Calves are fed on milk powder, probiotics and electrolytes with bentonite in grain and kaelin in milk powder to bind and help with fluid retention.

Before they leave the property, calves are also vaccinated, de-horned, castrated, wormed, treated against flies and pink eye.

Much of the operation’s work has been done solely by Mangal with seasonal

workers brought in for busy times, particularly autumn and spring. How-ever, in 2008 an injury to her neck and lower back forced her to scale back some of the more physi-

cally demanding jobs. “At the moment I have

three part-time workers and a school-based trainee two days a week.

“We have adapted the operation to reduce the

physical workload and streamline the procedures; we bought better tractors and introduced better systems for cleaning the pens and so on.”

Despite the adoption of some new practices, Man-gal does not believe that a machine can ever do as good a job as a person on the ground. Therefore, she will never opt for a fully automatic system.

“Calf rearing really requires a person to be able to look at the calf and assess its behaviour. Is it coming up to feed or hanging back? Is it moving around actively or keeping to itself? These are things a machine can never do and make a huge differ-ence to success or other-wise of calf rearing.”

In South Australia, there are relatively few calf rear-ers that are not attached to dairies.

“It is hard work – you need to be willing to go the extra mile, which may mean being prepared to get up at 2am to give electro-lytes if a calf needs it.

“You also need a good understanding of animal husbandry, have skills in animal health and a sound knowledge of the overarching themes of the industry, market and trends.

“Having good friends in the calf rearing industry is very important; you can share ideas, knowledge and help each other,” she says.

Hygiene underpins calf rearing program

WHO: Annabel Mangal WHERE: Nairne WHAT: Calf rearing

The 360ha property has the capacity to rear 3000 calves a year.

Annabel Mangal and daughter Alex with two to six-week-old calves.

✓ Contains a single strain probiotic ✓ Nil withholding period ✓ Non medicated


ANIMAL HEALTH

AT THIS time of the year, in seasonal dairy practices, we are starting to get into pregnancy testing.

Often, the results are not what was hoped for – or anticipated. It is natural for farmers to want answers when pregnancy rates are worse than expected.

Bovine Pestivirus Disease is potentially one of the most significant viral diseases affecting reproduction in cattle and it has received a lot of press recently.

Pestivirus infection is a potential time bomb ticking away in many dairy

herds. It has the potential to devastate the reproduc-tive performance of herds all over Australia.

Herds that have had no previous exposure to the virus are at the greatest risk of a reproduc-tive disaster. However, those herds which are endemically infected with the virus can also suffer losses in many different forms.

I have heard of farmers who – faced with poor reproductive perform-

ance – have blood tested or milk tested and found antibodies to Pestivirus in the milking herd and been convinced they have found

the “answer” to their woes.However, after vaccinat-

ing their herd, they have experienced a similarly poor reproductive per-formance the following year.

Why does this happen? Because the mere presence of Pestivirus antibodies only tells the cattle have been exposed to the virus at some time during their life.

The presence of anti-bodies in the herd may indicate chronic infection, which is less likely to cause catastrophic reproductive losses. Or a recent infec-tion – which could explain pregnancy loss, stillbirth, congenital deformities and the birth of Persistently Infected (PI) calves.

The virus can cause early embryonic deaths –

with any delayed returns to oestrus infecting the developing foetus causing birth defects or abortion. When a foetus is infected – before it has developed its own immune system and survives – the phenom-enon of a Persistently Infected (PI) calf can occur.

This happens because as the immune system of the growing foetus develops, it never identifies the virus as being “foreign” and so never produces an antibody response to it. Therefore, PI cattle will usually test negative on an antibody test, turning them into a likely “sleeper agent” of destruction.

The “ear notch” is the best test for identifying PI calves, and eliminating them from the herd.

Whenever I am asked to investigate a possible Pesti-virus “outbreak”, I usually start with a history of the reproductive problem. In order to rule Pestivirus – in or out – as a potential cause of the reproductive loss, it is important to determine at what age the infection is occurring in the herd.

By testing groups of weaners, yearlings, springing two-year-olds as well as the cow herd, it is possible to determine whether there is a recent Pestivirus infection, or if the virus may be endemic in the herd.

The most dangerous time for a heifer or cow to become infected is at – or

soon after – joining. That is why whenever I identify a herd that has no antibodies – especially in the young stock – I shudder at the po-tential for disaster should the virus be introduced to the herd at a vulnerable time.

The two main strate-gies for reducing this risk is to either undertake a comprehensive vaccina-tion program, which must be ongoing, or redouble the efforts to maintain a completely closed herd.

PI calves are often poor doing calves, and many die when young.

However, some appear perfectly normal but they are like walking virus machines, infecting others that they come into con-tact with.

It is usually by buying in, or the straying of a tran-siently (recently) infected or PI animal into a negative herd, which can cause catastrophic losses

I could never hope to cover what is one of the most complex diseases that cattle veterinarians deal with in such a short article.

If you are looking for any information on Pestivirus disease, prevention strate-gies or advice on farm biosecurity, contact your local dairy veterinarian for unbiased scientific advice

Rob Bonanno is president of the Australian Cattle Veterinarians Association and a director of the Shep-parton Veterinary Clinic.

Wading through the murky depths of Pestivirus

ANIMAL HEALTHROB BONANNO

The most dangerous time for an animal to be infected is at joining.

THE LATEST genetic trends and production statistics for Australia’s national dairy herd have just been re-leased in the 2010 Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Report.

This new data collected, through herd-recording, reveals the following insights into herd-recorded dairy cows in 2009/10:• Protein production by Victorian cows is almost 20%

higher now than it was in 1990. • Almost half (43%) Australian dairy cows calve in the

months of July/August/September. • Most dairy cows are bred via artificial insemination

(72% of herd-recorded Holsteins, 69% of herd-re-corded Jerseys and 90% of herd-recorded Australian Red Breeds).

• On-average an AI cow is $53 more profitable than a naturally bred counterpart.

• About half (45%) of Australia’s 1.6 million milking cows were herd-recorded in 2009/10.

• On average, herd-recorded cows produced 30% more milk than non-herd recorded cows (Dairy Australia in Focus 2010 and ADHIS 10).

• Over the past decade, about 30% of dairy’s produc-tivity gains have been the result of genetic improve-ment.This report was published jointly by the Australian

Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme (ADHIS) and the National Herd Improvement Association of Australia (NHIA).

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ANIMAL HEALTH

FARMERS SHOULD be think-ing now about dairy nutrition to set their herds up for better milk production and fertility during the next lactation, says InCalf’s Dr Barry Zimmermann.

“Late lactation is the best op-portunity to review body con-dition and adjust nutritional management to have cows calv-ing in the ideal condition, which sets them up for the coming lac-tation and joining period,” Zim-mermann explains.

InCalf recommends assess-ing herd body condition about eight weeks before drying off.

“Aim to have dry-off cows in ideal condition for calving.

“If they are below ideal condi-

tion, consider improving their diet between now and drying off by allocating more high-quality pasture or supplement.

“The ideal body condition

score at calving is 4.5-5.5, based on the Condition Magician scale of 1-8.

“If most of the herd is in ideal condition, a lower cost option may be to separate the thin cows out for preferential feed-ing with a supplement.”

Zimmermann says farmers should also be planning their herd’s nutrition during the dry period.

“Don’t fall for the mistake of

under-feeding dry cows. You don’t want them to lose weight at this time,” he says.

“Cows require extra energy and protein in the final two to four weeks of pregnancy to meet the higher demands of the developing calf.

“A 550kg dry cow needs about 90-100 megajoules of metabilisable energy a day and 11-12% crude protein – so poor quality pasture and hay will not be enough.”

Zimmermann says farmers could consider gradually introducing a grain supplement in the two weeks leading up to calving. This will help meet the extra requirements of the developing calf and also help prepare the rumen for concentrate feeding after calving, reducing the risk of grain poisoning.

InCalf is Dairy Australia’s na-tional project to help improve herd fertility.

KNOWING WHAT bug is causing mastitis in your dairy herd is the first step towards containing an outbreak and managing it in the long-term.

That’s the view of Dairy Australia Countdown Downunder project leader Dr John Penry, who says al-most all mastitis is caused by bacteria entering the udder through the teat canal.

“It is worth collecting milk samples from all clinical cases, before you treat them, and putting samples in the freezer,” Penry says. “Then if you start getting more than two cases per 100 cows a month, you can send them to the lab to find out what bug is involved.”

There are two main types of mastitis in dairy herds. Each involves differ-ent bacteria and different approaches to treatment and management: cow associated or contagious mastitis, and environmen-tal mastitis.

Cow-associated or con-tagious mastitis spreads from cow to cow and is commonly caused by Staph aureus or Strep agalactiae.

Penry says Strep agalac-tiae is sensitive to penicil-lin, so this treatment has a fairly high cure rate.

“The trouble is it spreads very rapidly and doing things to stop this spread should be the focus for herds infect with this bacteria.”

This involves a fairly intense review of the way things are done; including milking hygiene and treat-ing clinical cases, ways of segregating the clean

and infected cows and the herd’s introduction policy.

“In contrast, Staph aureus is more difficult to cure. This is especially the case during lactation, so prevention is essential,” Penry explains.

“New infections can by reduced by 50%, by ensuring teat disinfection is being used at the right concentration and making sure the whole teat surface is covered after milking.”

Environmental mastitis is caused by bacteria that are widespread in a cow’s surroundings – soil, manure, bedding, calving pads and water. The main bacteria involved are Strep Uberis, E. coli and pseu-domonas.

“These bacteria are mainly picked up by the cow at calving time, result-ing in clinical mastitis at calving or early lactation,” Penry says. “It is important to review your dry cow strategy, if these bacteria are causing a problem in your herd.

He says the first step to finding out which bacteria is involved is to collect milk samples. Farmers should ask their vet for the sample tubes.

“Milk samples can be frozen and stored for up to four weeks; or sent directly to the lab for testing,” Penry adds. “The lab can also check which antibiotics are likely to be effective against the bacteria present (sensitiv-ity testing).

“It is important to follow the correct milk sampling and transport procedure to ensure you get meaningful results from the lab.”

What bug is that?

Think nutrition now for better production

Assess body condition about eight weeks before drying off.

Dr Barry Zimmermann

HOW MANY CALVES WILL SCOURS COST YOU THIS YEAR?

Can you afford not to vaccinate?Visit www.coopersanimalhealth.com.au to calculate the cost of calf scours on your property

For further information, please call us on Toll Free 1800 885 576® Registered Trademark

AFFECTED

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MHAIRI SUTHERLAND

DEHORNING IS a routine animal husbandry practice carried out to lessen the risk of injury to stock, people and other animals during handling and transport of stock.

It is commonly performed with-out pain relief – even though it causes extensive tissue damage and is known to cause pain.

There are two major compo-nents to the pain caused by de-horning. Firstly, the initial pain caused by dehorning and secondly that caused by inflammation of the wound.

Studies – conducted at Massey University and AgResearch – have shown that the combination of us-ing a local anaesthetic and a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) prior to dehorning can eliminate any pain caused by this practice.

Administrating a local anaesthetic and NSAIDs at least 10 minutes prior to dehorning or castration will give ample time for these drugs to take full effect. However, this is impractical – from the stock person’s and the animal’s point of view – because the animal has to be handled twice (once to administer the drugs and secondly to perform the procedure) or restrained for the whole 10 minutes.

Therefore, the aim of the study was to find out if giving pain relief (local anaesthetic and a NSAID)

immediately prior to dehorning would still provide effective pain relief for calves.

The calves used in this study were about three months of age and were either handled only or dehorned using a scoop dehorner. Half the calves were dehorned without pain relief, while the oth-ers were injected with local anaes-

thetic just prior to dehorning and then given an NSAID intramuscu-larly immediately after the proce-dure was performed.

Blood samples were taken (prior to and up to 72 hours after dehorning) to measure cortisol and acute phase protein concen-trations. Cortisol is a common measure of the stress response

in animals and acute phase proteins are a measure of tis-sue damage and inflammation. Calf behaviour was observed while the calves were in their home pens for up to 180 minutes after the pro-cedures were performed. Finally, body weight was measured before and then 24 hours after handling and dehorning.

Cortisol concentrations in-creased in dehorned calves for up to six hours after having their horns removed. But, the concen-trations were similar among calves that received pain relief at the time of dehorning and calves that were only handled.

Acute phase protein concentra-tions were higher in calves 24 and 72 hours after dehorning and this response was eliminated in calves given pain relief.

Calves that were dehorned spent more time wagging their tails and less time eating compared to those that received pain relief.

Lastly, calves that were de-horned lost weight during the 24-hours after losing their horns. Whereas the calves that were giv-en pain relief at dehorning did not suffer any loss of body weight.

This study showed that dehorn-ing does cause physiological and behavioural changes in calves in-dicative of pain. However, this can be mitigated by providing pain re-lief to the animals when dehorning is carried out.

Mhairi Sutherland is a scientist at AgResearch, NZ.

Research shows giving pain relief immediately prior to dehorning is effective.

Dehorning anaesthetic wait time slashed

Dehorning pain can be relieved through using local anaesthetic and non-steroidial anti-inflammatory drugs.

The study used calves three months of age.

IN UDDER WORDS...

60 day rechargeDo you want to bring your autumn calvers back fresh and ready to go after calving?Management at drying off and length of the dry period are increasingly being recognised as the keys to preparing for a healthy, productive lactation, with evidence showing a 60 day dry period can maximise milk production in subsequent lactations.Research is showing that the opportunity to “recharge” during a 60 day dry period pays dividends, optimising milk production.Coopers Veterinarian Dr Damian O’Brien said that while farmers typically expected the slightly shorter milking period after a 60 day dry period to result in less milk over the total lactation, evidence showed otherwise.“A well planned dry-off and dry period can be the chance to reset the clock and allow cows to fully recharge before the next lactation,” Dr O’Brien said.“Use of a broad spectrum, long acting dry cow preparation and a 60 day dry period allows the opportunity for any infection to be cleaned out thoroughly, allowing cows to go into the new lactation clean. It gives the best opportunity for milk-producing cells in the udder lost during the previous lactation to regenerate and ensure optimal production in the next lactation.”“This can ultimately result in more milk and lower cell counts in the subsequent lactation.”Dr O’Brien said that a wetter than usual spring and summer, with flooding in many areas, had heightened mastitis and the overall stress on many milking herds.“Environmental mastitis is a big issue at the moment – dairy farmers need to talk to their vets to tailor a control programme. Broad spectrum intramammaries (whether they be lactating or dry cow formulations) that target these pathogens are essential in control programmes. For lactating cow preparations, you want broad spectrum, with rapid clearance from the udder, to reduce time out of the vat. For dry cow preparations, broad spectrum with long duration of action is what many cows will require,” he said. Hoof health and ruminal function are also vital contributors to a cows’ production. “A 60 day dry period gives the cow enough time to generate an entirely new sole and for the rumen’s microbial population and the ruminal epithelium to fully recover from any incidents of acidosis during lactation,” Dr O’Brien said.At Coopers, we know how busy dairy farmers are, that’s why we encourage you to talk to your vets to ensure you are making the most of drying off and optimising the dry period length.

For further information on drying off and dry cow or milking herd management, call Coopers Animal Health on 1800 885 576 or talk to you local vet.

® Registered Trademark


Scott McDougall

ANIMAL HEALTH

SCOTT MCDOUGALL

ONE OF the tools available to dairy farmers to man-age mastitis is ‘dry cow therapy’ – intramammary infusion of antibiotics at the end of lactation.

This increases the cure rate of existing infections and reduces the risk of acquiring new infections during the dry period.

Dry cow therapy is a big investment and there are some things that improve its efficacy.

Research work has shown “partial insertion”, i.e. advancing the tip of the dry cow therapy tube only 3mm into the teat canal (rather than right though the teat canal), results in a better cure rate of existing infec-tions.

Additionally, a survey by the writer showed that herds in which ‘partial insertion’ is practised have lower BTSCC in the follow-ing lactation, most likely due to getting fewer new infections.

How does partial inser-tion work? Probably in sev-eral ways.

First, the teat canal is lined with keratin, which is part of the first line of defence against invading bacteria. By fully insert-ing the tip of the antibiotic tube, the keratin layer may be physically removed.

Second, if the teat ends are not properly cleaned and bacteria are carried in on the tip of the tube, these bacteria may be carried all the way through to the cistern, thus bypassing the defences of the teat canal.

Third, full-depth in-sertion may temporarily stretch the teat canal, mak-ing it easier for bacteria to enter.

In contrast, partial in-sertion leaves a trace of antibiotic in the teat canal, preventing bacteria grow-ing into the teat canal, the first step to infection deep-er into the udder.

Practically, partial inser-tion is easy to do. The tip of the tube is simply partly in-serted in the teat canal and the thumb and forefinger of the opposite hand used to clamp the tube tip gently at the teat end. The syringe is then gently plunged so as to prevent any back flow

of antibiotic from the teat end.

Products that have a ‘col-lar’ or ‘two-stage cap’ on the tip – these allow the op-tion of either doing part or full insertion – may make the job of partial insertion easier by having only a few millimeters of the tip ex-posed, hence preventing the tip being inserted too far.

To get the best out of dry cow therapy, plan to have enough trained people on hand to do the job.

People should be designated to undertake each task. For example, one person might do the teat cleaning (i.e. scrub the teat end with a cotton wool ball moistened with

‘Partial insertion’ helps dry-cow therapy

Partial insertion leaves a trace of antibiotic actually in the teat canal, preventing bacteria growing.

70% meths), the second might do the dry cow therapy infusion and the third apply teat spray, mark the cows and record the treatments.

Doing the job carefully and consistently will re-duce the risk of missing cows, double-treating cows, carrying bacteria into the gland and damag-ing teats, with the result

that the dry cow therapy is more effective.

Don’t rush the job, dry off the herd in groups and budget on doing about 25 cows/person/hour.

Scott McDougall, BVSc, PhD, is a registered special-ist in bovine reproduction, is a researcher at Cognosco, the research division of Ani-mal Health Centre, Morrin-sville, New Zealand.

DAIRY AUSTRALIA’S Cool Cows program has released a white board poster to help prevent heat stress this summer.

“Many dairy farms have different heat stress practices, depending on the level of risk,” Cool Cows leader Dr Steve Little says.

“So staff need to know the day’s level of risk and who needs to do what.”

A good way to start is to sit down with everyone involved and discuss the farm’s approach to different levels of stress. The decisions can be written on the white board.

It also contains a dial which can be adjusted to show the day’s heat stress risk, according to the weather forecast on the Cool Cows website.

To subscribe, visit website www.coolcows.com.au

Beat the heat


MACHINERY & PRODUCTS

A NEW sustainability award for farmers will provide a $5000 prize – in cash and product – to the most outstanding example of on-farm sustainable practice during 2011.

The initiative to provide this award has been taken by Tapex, suppliers of crop protection plas-tics to the fodder industry, in con-junction with the Australian Fod-der Industry Association.

The new award follows Tapex’s launch of its Plasback farm plastics recycling program. The Plasback program is currently available to farmers in most rural areas of Vic-toria and is expanding this year into parts of NSW, SA and Tasma-nia.

AFIA chairman Bill Gough says the award will help build a more sustainable approach to fodder conservation.

“With an annual production around eight million tonnes, the hay and silage industry is a large consumer of inputs including crop packaging, fertilizer and fuel,” he explains. “Fodder production, like all agricultural activities, will come under increasing environmental pressure to reduce these inputs.”

Hay exporters such as SP Hay in South Australia and Wilsons Stockfeeds at Tocumwal, NSW –

who are currently recycling their baling twine via the Plasback pro-gram – demonstrate the value of these measures.

Wilson Stockfeeds in Tocumwal have been in the hay export busi-ness for over 20 years and dispos-ing of up to 30 tonnes of twine a year from big square bales has al-ways presented an issue.

“We have pressed it and sold it occasionally when there has been

demand, but the price fluctuates from year to year and it’s just not worth the trouble,” Rod Wilson says.

“Our business is exporting hay, not twine. So unfortunately the twine has been going straight into the landfill skip.”

Not any more, as Wilson has be-come one of the first hay exporters to join the Plasback product stew-ardship scheme.

Plasback offers businesses, such as Wilson’s, a cost and time-effec-tive method of dealing with a per-ennial problem - disposal of fodder packaging plastics.

Tapex environmental manager Ed George says all twine collected through the Plasback scheme is reprocessed in Australia through partner recyclers in Sydney, Mel-bourne and Adelaide.

“We give the waste plastic new life by converting it into products like Tuffdeck, our non-slip, wet area modu-lar grate system and Tuffboard, an inde-structible plywood substitute.

“At Tapex we be-lieve our business model must be sus-

tainable if we are to continue to be Australia’s only twine manufac-turer. This means helping our cus-tomers recycle our products again after use.”

The 2011 Plasback Sustainable Farming Award will be decided by an independent panel of judges and awarded at the AFIA’s National Fodder Conference at Maroochy-dore in August.

For details, visit www.afia.org.au

Rod Wilson, Wilson Stockfeeds, Tocumwal, says disposing of up to 30 tonnes per year of large square bale twine has always presented a problem. He is one of the first hay exporters to join the Plasback product stewardship scheme.

$5000 prize for sustainable farm

“Fodder production will come under increasing environmental pressure to reduce inputs.”

www.poettinger.com.au

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INTERNATIONAL MACHINERY giant CLAAS is well underway to leaving the global financial crisis in its wake, according to its 2010 annual report and financial performance highlights.

While world sales were down around 15% – in line with the post recession global industry performance – market share and gross margins rose.

Highlights for the family-owned CLAAS to 30 September 2010 include:• International sales

AU$3.3 billion.• Gross margins improved

to 23.4%.• Profit before tax on

income AU$103 million.• Free cash flow

AU$288.4 million – previous year AU$354 million.CLAAS’ farm

machinery range – which includes high capacity advanced technology combine harvesters, new generation tractors and fodder conservation equipment is distributed throughout Australasia by NZ-based Landpower Holdings Limited.

Landpower CEO Richard Wilson says the German manufacturer is planning to trial and introduce new combines, tractors and fodder machinery in Australia and New Zealand during this year.

“We have new generation tractors and fodder equipment being trialled in the southern hemisphere. CLAAS invested $288.5 million in R&D last financial year, which really underscores its commitment to and acknowledgement of the growing importance of food production as the

world population grows.”Wilson sees a strong

sales year ahead for CLAAS in Australia and New Zealand both of which are playing an increasingly important role in satisfying growing new consumer demand from Asia.

“We are performing strongly in our trans-Tasman market despite tragic floods and crop losses in Australia and tough harvest conditions in New Zealand,” he says. “The resilience of our producers and commodity markets is maintaining machinery demand at high levels.

Wilson says there’s a strong push in Australia to take advantage of the once in a quarter century record soil moisture levels in the summer crop production belts across the eastern states.

“All the indicators are that winter cropping will be at record levels also as producers seek to catch up, once again, after a decade of drought.”

Lely chief visits newly installed robots in Queensland

CLAAS powers on post-recession

CLAAS will trial and introduce new machinery in Australia this year.

Australian farming conditions are totally different to both Europe and North America.

LELY INTERNATIONAL chief Al-exander van der Lely is no stranger to Australian soils.

On his most recent visit, he made an on-farm visit to a south-ern Queensland dairy farm. As part of his twice-annual Austral-ian trip, van der Lely visited the Dennis family, Tamrookum, Qld – who have just installed the first Lely Astronaut A3 robotic dairy in south east Queensland.

“Australian farming conditions are totally different to both the Eu-ropean and North American ways, which are more intensive,” van der Lely says. “I am very impressed as there is a lot more grazing.” Van der Lely says he enjoys talking to the farmers to see what moti-vates them into making decisions to buy equipment such as the Lely Astronaut.

“In robotic milking, it really is

an emerging market in Australia and Lely is the clear market leader worldwide.

He says Lely would have 60% of the world market, with more than 10,000 robot units in North Amer-ica and Europe. Van der Lely be-lieves his regular Australian visits keep him in touch with the needs of Australian farmers.

“It is very important for us to gauge the Australian conditions

as they are different due to the fact there is more focus on pasture grazing of cows.”

Over the years, Lely has devel-oped and streamlined grazing systems such as the ABC grazing which was developed in Australia to suit our conditions.

As part of his visit to Australia, van der Lely also visited farm-ing clients, dealers, and staff in Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

Richard Wilson



FOURTH GENERATION dairy farmer Greg Dennis’s decision to re-enter the dairy industry two years ago was motivated by im-proved farm-gate prices and an in-terest in robotic milking machines.

Dennis’s family had earlier stopped dairying on their Tam-rookum farm, south of Beaudesert, Queensland, in 2003 – due to a combination of the on-going drought and deregulation.

“We sold our milkers and uti-lized the 370 acre farm, comprising Logan River flats, to grow hay on a large scale basis, as well as working off-farm,” Dennis says.

However, in 2007 milk prices jumped from their unproductive low of 35c/l to 55c and there was a welcome break in the season – so the Dennis family returned to the industry.

They sourced their milking herd from as far north as the Atherton

Tablelands and southern NSW. Now the family is milking 160 Hol-stein cows, producing 1.4m litres annually for Parmalat – utilizing a three-unit Lely Astronaut robotic milking system.

“When I returned to the indus-try just over two years ago, I briefly looked at the latest in robotic milk-ing,” Dennis says.

“However in April last year, I really got serious and started re-searching milking robots and was confident it was the way of the fu-ture.”

In May, Greg and his father Dar-rell, together with their dairy advi-sor Derek Acheson, of Tekno Dairy, Jimboomba, travelled to Victoria to see the Lely Astronaut system first hand.

“We travelled to two Victorian farms in the Gippsland district, as I knew my father needed to see the robots in operation, to be able to

fully appreciate them.“We placed our order for three

Lely Astronaut units in June and milked our first cows through the system on October 31.”

The system took seven days to install and Greg says it handles the family’s 160 cows with ease.

“It is the productive efficiency and the technological information that really impresses me,” he says.

“It cuts down the time I spend in the dairy, allowing me more time to manage other aspects of the farm.”

Dennis says the labour saving is also an attraction and makes his farm-time more flexible.

The cows are milked two and a half times on average over a 24-

hour period. The cows are rotated on a grazing pattern known as ABC strip grazing and are enticed through the dairy by the need to feed.

Hygiene is automatically man-aged, with teats washed down and the lines rinsed after every 10 cows.

Each cow’s daily production is registered by the computer, via scanning of a neck collar. The computer also records a health check, weighs the cows, and gives a heat detection reading.

Milk quality is monitored and production from any cows show-ing health problems is kept sepa-rate from the mainstream vat.

Tel. (03) 5484 4000

VICSEEDS IS giving farm-ers an opportunity to win $5000 cash if they buy Avalon or Avalon AR1 per-ennial ryegrass.

Vicseeds is a farmer-owned company which specialises in growing and supplying Australian-bred perennial ryegrasses.

Its flagship product, Avalon, is well known for its persistence and over-all dry matter production and is a mid to late matur-ing variety suited to all grazing enterprises.

The variety is now available as both Avalon – with wild type endophyte – and Avalon AR1 – with safe endophyte – that will not cause staggers or any other animal health issues related to high levels of wild type endophyte.

With Avalon being bred from Australian based material, plant genetics play a major role in plant

persistence. Vicseeds sales manager

Alan Gowers says endo-phyte does play some role in persistence, but be-lieves plant genetics plays a big role.

“The early NZ varie-ties that came out with high levels of wild type endophyte did not persist, which indicates plant ge-netics is extremely impor-tant in plant persistence,” he says.

“We really want farm-ers to give Australian-bred Avalon or Avalon AR1 a go. I think, when they try it, they will be really im-pressed with its perform-ance and persistence.

“That’s why we are of-fering the incentive of giv-ing a farming family the chance to win $5000 cash just for giving it a go.”

For more details, visit www.vicseeds.com.au or tel. (03) 5521 7577.

YAMAHA IS set to release a new model, the YFM-450FAP Grizzly, this year.

The key enhancements include a lighter, one-piece frame, redesigned wet brake system, higher AC gen-erator output and a more durable rear gear assembly.

Yamaha says these changes result in an overall weight reduction, and improved ergonomics for a more comfortable and agile riding experience.

The company claims the Grizzly 450 has been a popular choice for professional and recreational rid-ers since its introduction in 2005 – because it com-bines the versatility, durability and pulling power of a utility ATV with the handling and comfort that trail riding demands.

Yamaha says its engineers have made several en-

hancements to the chassis to give the Grizzly 450 a sportier feel, without compromising durability.

The new one-piece frame increases rigidity and strength while reducing weight by 2.7kg. The stabilis-er bar has been shortened and its stiffness has been increased by 20% to match the new frame dynamics.

The rear gear assembly has been completely rede-signed, switching from a two-point mounting system to a three-point system – which adds extra struc-tural strength to the rear chassis, as well as improv-ing force deployment while accelerating, riding over rough terrain or braking.

The recommended retail price is $12,999 for the YFM450FAP Grizzly Auto 4x4 (with electronic power steering) and $12,599 for the standard YFM450FA

Grizzly Auto 4x4.Yamaha is providing free power-steering

upgrades for its Grizzly range of ATVs.Customers who pay for a standard steer

model will receive a power-steering model, equating to savings of $700 for the YFM700FAP Grizzly, $550 for the YFM550FAP Grizzly and $400 for the YFM450FAP Grizzly, for free.

Yamaha is also offering savings of up to $1000 on nine other models.

These promos run until February 24.

Robots help re-spark farmer’s dairy interests

Win cash with Avalon

Yamaha unveils new Grizzly

Yamaha’s engineers have made several enhancements to the chassis that give the Grizzly 450 a sportier feel without compromising durability.

Beaudesert dairy farmer Greg Dennis with his new Lely Astronaut.

THERE’S NO doubting Daryl Thompson’s new Claas Xerion tractor has an imposing physical pres-ence.

But the Southland, New Zealand, contractor says there is much more to the machine than just muscle. Thompson’s business of-fers pit silage, ground work and effluent disposal serv-ices. His operation runs about ten tractors of the same brand, but the new Xerion – which arrived in November 2010 – is the first Claas tractor he has owned.

Sitting on four equal-size tyres, the Xerion

3300 VC model generates about 330hp and features a reversible cab.

Along with its high horsepower and front linkage, the reversible cab makes the Xerion a perfect match for Thompson’s big Claas 9300 mower unit. Pit silage is a major part of the business and the ability to mow large areas quickly is crucial.

Thompson and his team run a Claas Jag 870 har-vester through the entire season, adding a second harvester, a Claas Jag 820, during the peak Novem-ber-December months.

“So we needed a trac-tor that would keep our mower running at full capacity in front of two harvesters.”

Thompson says the Xerion has made a massive difference to mowing ef-ficiency.

Incorporating a 50kph transmission, it is driven to the client’s farm with the cab in the standard position.

“Then, when you get to the paddock, the cab is hydraulically lifted and swung around so that it is sitting over the top of the mowers to give you an excellent view of the mow-ing unit.”

Thompson says another advantage of this configuration is that the tractor’s radiator unit is

at the rear of the machine and this protects it from dust and debris while mowing.

He says the mowing unit has a good suspen-sion system of its own, and this – combined with the Xerion’s exceptional suspension and stability – means mowing on uneven terrain is a breeze.

“It just floats across the paddock and you certainly don’t feel the bumps. The Xerion is an amazing ma-chine to operate. Visibility is fantastic, all the controls are just where you’d want them to be and the four-wheel steering is great for quick turns at the end of a row.”

Its TRAC system distrib-utes weight evenly across

the front and rear axles to provide good traction and enormous lugging power.

An infinitely vari-able and fully reversible gearbox optimises engine power and the

Xerion 3300’s transmis-sion system offers four driving modes to suit vari-ous conditions.

Thompson says he likes to use automotive mode while mowing because speed and gear changes are controlled through the accelerator pedal – much like an automatic car.

“It’s nice and simple. You use your left hand for steering and this leaves your right hand free for operating the other mower controls.”

Cruise control mode can also be activated from the fingertip lever and this is ideal for road travel. Thompson says it is great to drive on the road and carries the big mower unit with complete ease.

While the Xerion is likely to be his main mow-ing workhorse for many years to come, the versatile tractor will also be utilised for other jobs, including cultivation work and efflu-ent spreading.

His slurry tanker holds 14,000 litres and weighs 18-19 tonnes fully loaded, but the Xerion will tow this spreader “no problems at all”. He says it has the power and functionality to handle a wide range of tasks.

“We might also use it as a stack tractor if the need arose during whole crop harvesting.”

Tel. Paul Holdaway 0419 243 888

Xerion provides ample brawn for big mowing unit

The Xerion 3300 VC model generates about 330hp and features a reversible cab.

Daryl Thompson with his Claas Xerion tractor.

Specialist livestock agency servicing Australia’s Dairy

IndustryLocated in Geelong, Vicstock has a strong history in the dairy

and livestock industry. Recently acquired by Will Crozier (former General Manager and now Managing Director) and Richard

Kerr (Western District Livestock – Kerr Bros.), Vicstock is in the process of expanding its current services to include every facet

of dairying and livestock agency services.

Vicstock with its head office located in Geelong has an impressive client base of 3,500 businesses, located in the

dairying districts of Gippsland, Western and Northern Victoria, NSW Riverina, Tasmania and South East of South Australia.

With a current turnover of approximately $14 million per annum, the biggest component being in Bobby Calf sales. Vicstock

is highly renowned for its excellent standard of service, strict regulatory protocols and modern, forward thinking philosophy.

After one year of privatisation, the core business (supplying various domestic and export abattoirs with dairy cows and

calves) of Vicstock has strengthened and continues to grow. Opportunities in the export heifer market and private cattle

sales continue to expand and supplying a complete service for the Dairy Beef industry explored through developing markets

throughout South East Asia.

Your Vicstock representatives include:

Will Crozier ( Director) Geelong 0429 672 372

Richard Kerr (Director) Western Victoria 0437 577 363

Head Office Geelong (03) 5222 5688

Bernard Atkins Tasmania 0417 593 158

Frank Steers Tasmania 0418 141 081

Lou Seuren Gippsland 0417 329 503

Brett Lunghusen Northern Victoria 0409 401 085

Ian Headon NSW Riverina 0427 931 338

www.vicstock.com.au


MOTORING

NEARLY TWO decades ago, Jeep reinvented the premium sport-utility vehicle (SUV) segment with the introduction of the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

More than 4 million sales later, Jeep says it has made improvements to provide a balance between 4x4 capability and on-road refinement with its all-new Grand Cherokee, which is now on sale in Australia from $45,000.

“The Jeep Grand Cherokee delivers premium on-road performance while maintaining the Jeep brand’s legendary four-wheel-drive capability, delivered

through a torque-on-demand two-speed transfer case.”

It also features an improved interior cabin and new power trains delivering improved fuel consumption and tow capability. The new Quadra-Lift air suspension system is a first for Jeep, delivering both off-road and on-road capability.

This provides a total of 104mm of lift adjustment and operates automatically or may be controlled manually via console controls. Quadra-Lift is supported by four-corner air springs featuring five height settings for

improving ride performance.“With the front air dam removed and

the available Quadra-Lift air suspension set to Off Road 2 mode, the new Jeep Grand Cherokee features a 34.3-degree approach angle, a 27.3-degree (to rear recovery tow hook) departure angle and a 23.1-degree breakover angle”

In addition, the Selec-Terrain control dial allows the driver to choose from five driving conditions. This feature electronically coordinates up to 12 different power train, braking and suspension systems, including throttle control, transmission shift, transfer

case, Traction Control and Electronic Stability Control (ESC).

New front and rear independent suspension systems also help deliver better on-road handling and comfort.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee comes with a choice of two 4x4 systems: Quadra-Trac II and Quadra-Drive II.

Quadra-Trac II’s two-speed transfer case uses input from a variety of sensors in order to determine tyre slip at the earliest possible moment and take corrective action.

The system uses Throttle Anticipate to sense quick movement in the throttle

from a stop and maximises traction before slippage occurs. When tyre slippage is detected, as much as 100 percent of available torque is instantly routed to the axle with the most traction.

Quadra-Drive II, with a rear Electronic Limited-slip Differential (ELSD), delivers tractive capability. The system instantly detects tyre slip and distributes engine torque to tyres with traction. In some cases, the vehicle will anticipate low traction and adjust in order to proactively limit or eliminate slip.

VOLVO CARS will unveil its new V60 Plug-in Hybrid at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.

It says this is a virtu-ally production-ready car with carbon diox-ide emissions below 50 g/km and boasting an average fuel consump-tion of just 1.9 l/100 km. In 2012, Volvo Cars plans to be the first manufacturer on the market with the new breed of hybrid, which is

the result of close coopera-tion with the Swedish en-ergy supplier Vattenfall.

Volvo claims the hybrid features the best proper-ties from three different car types in the body of a sports wagon.

This includes the option to drive for up to 50 kilo-metres on electricity. The front wheels will be driven by a five-cylinder 2.4-litre D5 turbodiesel, which pro-duces 160 kW and maxi-

mum torque of 440 Nm. The rear axle features

Electric Rear Axle Drive (ERAD) in the form of an electric motor producing 52 kW – which receives its power from a 12 kW lithi-um-ion battery pack.

The car also features a six-speed automatic trans-mission.

Volvo says the V60 Plug-in Hybrid will be revealed at a press conference in Ge-neva on March 1.

BMW SAYS its new, fourth genera-tion BMW 5 Series Touring is now available in Australia.

The 5 Series Touring is offered in two models. The entry-level 2.0-li-tre four-cylinder turbodiesel 520d Touring priced at $92,800. While the high-performance, 3-litre Twin-Power Turbo straight six cylinder petrol engine – the top-of-the-range 535i Touring – is priced from $138,900.

Both models feature an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard. In the case of the 535i Touring, this takes the form of an eight-speed sports automatic trans-mission.

“With the longest wheelbase in its class measuring 2968mm and an overall length of 4907mm, the BMW 5 Series Touring offers a vast amount of interior space with flex-ible seating for five occupants and a large carpeted rear luggage space,” BMW claims.

In order to offer versatility in its carrying capacity, the rear seat back splits and folds individually in three 40/20/40 sections providing a lug-gage capacity that ranges from 560 litres to 1670 litres.

The rear seat backs can also be adjusted through 11 degrees in seven separate increments, which increases luggage capacity by 30 li-tres. While the rear tailgate with its low-loading sill offers a separately opening rear window to allow quick and easy access to the luggage com-partment.

The window and tailgate can both be opened using the remote control

and on the 535i Touring, the tailgate is fully electrically operated.

The 5 Series Touring is available in Black or Alpine White or a choice of 11 other metallic exterior colours (non-cost option for 535i).

Inside, the leather interior uphol-stery is offered in a choice of six col-ours, with the optional Nappa leath-er with extended contents available in a choice of Black or Oyster/Black.

New Grand Cherokee a smoother ride

Volvo unveils V60 Plug-In Hybrid

BMW Touring Aust roads

Control and utilise dairy effluent today | Design, mixing, pumping and separation equipmentAll provided by RP Rural Engineering | Specialist in effluent management

Contact Philip Thompson 02 4473 7276 [email protected] www.rpruralengineering.com.au

THE NEW GENERATION BY AITCHISONSOWING HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER

From Only $14,950+GST

Grassfarmer Tine DrillsGrassfarmer Disc Drills• 2.1m or 2.7m sowing width with larger seedbox

• Class leading 14” coulter discs with heavier coulter bar

• Straightner 25mm tines and larger frame stagger for better trash clearance

For further information on the ‘Reese Greenfarmer’ range contact: Brendan Prentice on 0400 540 300 or ring freephone 1800 140 196

REESE ENGINEERING LTD GEELONG, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIAEmail: [email protected] Website: www.reesagri.co.nz

AHC_MHM9427-102

As released at FarmWorld 2010

RAISING THE BENCHMARK IN DRILL PERFORMANCE YET AGAIN!AS YOU WOULD EXPECT FROM AITCHISON, THE AIR PRO RANGE INTRODUCES UNIQUE FEATURES NOT PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE, TO CREATE UNEQUALLED SEEDING AND TRANSPORT VERSATILITY.

SEEDMATIC AIR PRO 4132 SEEDMATIC PROFESSIONAL RANGE

> Compact transport dimensions: W 2.7m H 3.5m L 6.8m> 4.8m sowing width> Rejuvenate existing pasture or handle any arable seed-

ing job with ease> Disc coulters as standard> Unrivalled contour following ability> Seed, Fert and optional 3rd box> Rear rollers close seed slots & control seeding debt

are standard> Ground pressure spread between rear rollers, disc

coulters and wheels (better soft ground ability)

> Compact transport dimensions: W 3.2m H 1.7m L 3.6m> 3.0m sowing width> Narrow 136mm row spacing with 22 large 25mm

tines> Best sowing and fert delivery system accurate to

low levels> Stainless steel fertiliser bin standard> Optional self loading harrow kit also available> Large 14” coulters, straight tines and large 550mm

stagger for unrivalled trash handling ability

THE NEW GENERATION BY AITCHISONSOWING HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER


Grassfarmer Tine DrillsGrassfarmer Disc Drills• 2.1m or 2.7m sowing width with larger seedbox

• Class leading 14” coulter discs with heavier coulter bar

• Straightner 25mm tines and larger frame stagger for better trash clearance

For further information on the ‘Reese Greenfarmer’ range contact: Brendan Prentice on 0400 540 300 or ring freephone 1800 140 196

REESE ENGINEERING LTD GEELONG, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIAEmail: [email protected] Website: www.reesagri.co.nz

AHC_MHM9427-102

As released at FarmWorld 2010


SUPER SUMMER

SAVINGS

NOW

AVAILABLE

.

For further information on the Aitchison range contact: your nearest Reese Agri Aitchison dealer or Brendan Prentice on 0400 540 300 Toll free 1800 140 196

DNAFEB2011

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