Graham and Kaye have been dairying for most of their lives. Both were born on dairy farms and milking cows since they were kids.
As Kaye says, it’s in their blood.
In 1980, they purchased their first ‘little plot’ together in Nyora.
The farm is now 200 hectares and they milk around 300 mainly cross-breed cows, with some Jersey and Friesians. The dairy is a 25 swingover.
In mid-2024, after their 75KVA generator in the dairy failed, they rang their Saputo Dairy Australia field services adviser Jol Dutton.
“I told Jol our generator had blown up and we’d need a new one pronto to keep the milk cool,” Graham said.
“Jol then mentioned we’d be able to get a rebate on a new one through SDA’s Milk Cooling Rebate.”
The rebate assists suppliers to develop and maintain a cooling and storage system that complies with SDA’s temperature and milk quality guidelines.
Saputo rebates 30 per cent of the net cost of purchase and installation of eligible MCR projects.
The Laings decided to purchase a bigger 100 KVA tractor-operated generator to ensure they had plenty of capacity to keep operating without mains power if required.
They decided to go for a tractor-operated generator because they didn’t want to deal with another motor they’d have to start up.
“We went with the tractor because it’s cheaper to set up and generally, your tractor motor won’t fail.”
Jol also helped with the paperwork, so it was a smooth and easy process.
The new generator is now installed, and they know there’ll be very little downtime should the power go off.
“Within 15 to 20 minutes, we can be connected to the generator and up and running, as long as the tractor isn’t too far away.”
To operate the generator, Graham simply backs up the tractor to where it’s located in the dairy, puts the power take-off shaft on and turns on the motor.
It's not the only thing that’s been keeping the Laings busy.
Six months ago, they brought on new sharefarmers — a Filipino couple, Don and Grace Yasana, who’ve been in Australia for three years following a 13-year farming stint in New Zealand.
“We wanted to start Don and Grace off with a fresh young herd of cows so Kaye and I bought 300 heifers back in March/April of 2024,” Graham said.
“I said we’d help them break the heifers in, so we milked with him for three months.”
Don’s now working with Graham and Kaye’s 16-year-old grandson, Jax, who has been living with his parents on the farm, learning about dairy.
Their five other grandchildren are also on-farm.
“I’m teaching them how to do farm work,” Kaye said.
“It’s a great upbringing and is keeping them well balanced.”
As for what keeps Graham and Kaye going? Kaye says dairy is part of their DNA.
“We love our milk product and want to ensure people have good healthy food to eat.”
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