It’s getting difficult to find the next best paddock for the cows at the moment.
This time of year always makes me long for sunshine and warmth, and certainly reminds me of how tough cows really are.
Being a spring calving farm, we’re waiting for the first calf of the season and asking the question: Do we have enough time to start another project before calving really hits? Nothing worse than starting a project and not being able to get it finished!
Ellinbank SmartFarm recently hosted a Gippsland Discussion Group with Irish farm consultant John McCabe.
It was a great turnout of farmers and service providers, with some fantastic discussions around current research, pasture utilisation and nitrogen use.
It was followed by a farm walk to check out the interesting pasture trials currently taking place at the SmartFarm.
During John’s presentation to the group, he highlighted that a strength for farmers was the focus on centralised data of individual farms. This data is helping to drive profitability for the whole of Ireland, and is helping the decision makers on-farm to drive profitability and efficiencies.
On a whole industry level, this data tells an amazing story of growth coming out of Ireland. The top producing farms were impressive, fully feeding cows with a strong focus on pasture production as their cheapest form of feed.
John mentioned these farmers were constantly getting the basics right, and I would agree: Grass is king.
As we move into a year on a softer milk price than 2023-24, getting our basics right in our farm business is important. It was a good reminder to Mike and I.
On the drive home from Ellinbank we talked about what it would take to grow another tonne of feed on the farm, what it would take to reduce more instances of mastitis in the herd, what we could do to get a few more cows in calf early, and we also talked about what it would save us if we could achieve those goals.
Farmers may not have control of setting the milk price, but we certainly have control of how we chase opportunities that will pay off this year.
Have you got some farm goals in mind for this season that you have shared with your team?
A friendly reminder that if you are looking to sharpen skills in this area, Dairy Australia has many online courses for you to consider. They can be found at: https://enlight.dairyaustralia.com.au
DairyBase is another great resource that allows you to benchmark your farm data against similar farms, highlighting areas of strength and potential opportunities for your farm business to consider. I would encourage you to give it a go.
To register for a DairyBase account, visit: https://www.dairyaustralia.com.au/farm-business/dairybase
The team at GippsDairy are always available to assist with accessing these, and other resources. Connect with them at info@gippsdairy.com.au or phone 5624 3900.
I’d also like to thank Professor Joe Jacobs, research director for animal production sciences at Agriculture Victoria Research, and his team at Ellinbank SmartFarm for hosting the Gippsland Discussion Group.
I look forward to more days showcasing the research that is happening.
Keep an eye out for future extension opportunities to be hosted at Ellinbank, it really is a great resource to Gippsland farmers, partially funded by our levy.
See you all on the other side of calving — I know I will be spending most of my time at the calf shed for the next few months.
I can’t wait for the first calf cuddle, and after that I’ll be down to business.
– Sarah O’Brien is the GippsDairy chair.
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