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Automation, quality food a hit on TAS field trip

After DFMC’s convention, 14 DFMC suppliers headed to Launceston where the post-convention tour commenced with some beautiful scenery on the way to Lion’s state-of-the-art The Heritage speciality cheese manufacturing hub in Burnie.

DFMC suppliers sporting the brand new hats.

Led by Lion’s Tasmanian Farm Services Officer, Alistair Shepard, the group was given a detailed tour of the plant – which is the largest speciality cheese production facility in the Southern Hemisphere – and was able to meet master cheese maker Ueli Berger. Ueli is responsible for the 11,000 tonnes of brie and camembert produced each year.

The 150-million-dollar redevelopment of the Burnie plant has seen a large focus on robotic production, which Ueli credits to making a more consistent and higher quality product. However, Ueli emphasised that the human workforce is still vitally important in ensuring quality.

The tour was also lucky enough to visit Garry and Bev Carpenters’ robotic milking operation.

Built in an old hops processing shed, the eight-box robotic dairy milks a herd of 500 cows and was an interesting example of how new technology can be incorporated with existing infrastructure.

Also interesting was the ownership structure of the operation, with the Carpenters leasing the property from a Singaporean businessman but being responsible for implementing the infrastructure improvements.

The next morning saw the DFMC tour head to Quamby Brook near Deloraine, where the Dornauf family operate a 350-cow farm that features the world’s first fully automatic milking rotary dairy (AMR).

While participants watched on from the viewing room overlooking the dairy, owner Nick Dornauf provided insight into the development and ongoing operation of the system.

The world’s first commercial Automatic Milking Rotary (AMR) dairy.

One of the more fascinating aspects of the facility was that, when maintenance of the robots is required, the dairy can be operated manually to avoid excessive disruption to cow milking patterns.

Lunch was at another Dornauf-owned operation – The Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm – although Nick’s confession that he prefers to eat in his tractor cabs certainly raised some eyebrows!

Any doubts about the establishment were quickly erased as the tour group were treated to one of the best meals experienced for the week, with the raspberry sundaes proving a particular favourite.

The Dornaufs operate five dairies in the area, milking around 2200 cows. In May this year the Dornaufs commissioned a new one-person 60-unit rotary on their 600-cow Moltema property, at an investment cost of $1.7 million.

Featuring a robotic arm teat sprayer, the state-of-the-art installation greatly impressed the tour group, with nothing overlooked in its design and construction.

Nick explained that although the family was happy with their automated rotary, the decision not to build another was based on management capacity due to geographic considerations, with the Moltema property not well suited to automation.

Meet a director: Grant Sherborne

Dairy farming means family and smart business for Grant and Jane Sherborne. After the two eldest Sherborne children left school and joined the business, Grant focussed on diversifying the strategies used on their farm at Burrawang, NSW to leverage the diverse skills that his family brings to the table.

Grant and Jane’s daughter Georgia manages the dairy full-time.

Grant’s wife Jane has served on the Dairy NSW Board of Directors for the past four years and Chairman for the past two years. Jane manages the farm records and accounts, but her passion lies in rearing top-quality calves; both male and female. Their daughter Georgia has a full-time position operating and overseeing the milking procedure, as well as the running of the dairy computer system, including recording all herd events. William, the older of their two sons, specialises in pasture management, irrigation and stock feed requirements.  Samuel, who has just finished school, helps out wherever he can, lending his great eye for detail and natural aptitude for farming to the team.

“It’s an advantage to us, having the kids come into the business with a fresh perspective and new ideas,” Grant said.

“It’s important for farmers to always be willing to diversify and forever be willing to change to improve practices. Having the kids take on more on-farm responsibility has also freed me up to do a little more off-farm to support the industry.”

Jane and Grant Sherborne both serve on boards for the dairy industry.

Two years ago, Grant updated their 20-a-side swing-over dairy to include Automatic Disinfectant Flushing (ADF) cups, DeLaval milk meters, a computer system with DeLaval scanners that read the NLIS tags, individual milk meters, individual cow recording, and conductivity meters for detecting mastitis before it develops.

The dairy currently milks 300 cows, with plans to calve 340-345 this coming year. The Sherbornes’ short-term aim is to produce a bit over 2.5 million litres and eventually build up to 3 million. Rather than selling bobby calves at low value, the Sherbornes raise all bull calves into steers, running them on their semi-feedlot 4km down the road, until they reach production targets to meet market requirements, with some going into premium MSA grade beef.

The Sherborne family have also been working with Neil Moss from the Scibus program (through DFMC) to boost herd and farm production, through improved pasture and reproductive management. A nutrient mapping program enables them to reuse all the effluent from the dairy, feed pad and calf shed in the right places.

“We go for a drive with Neil to look at things on the farm and he doesn’t ask too much of me, but he really challenges the kids on what they’re doing,” Grant said.

Eldest son William manages the pastures, irrigation and stock feed requirements.

The Sherborne farm featured in Dairy NSW and Dairy Australia’s Project 20:20 Pathways to Change. Grant and Jane are also heavily involved in Dairy Australia’s Cows Create Careers, taking calves into high schools to demonstrate how well they are looked after and educating students on what is involved in milk production, as well as taking on work placement students throughout the year, and welcoming school excursions on-farm to see how the cows are milked, fed and handled.

“The way our cows are treated can be different from what they’ve read or been told. Hopefully we’ll see a correlation between this education and graduates deciding to investigate a career in dairy – or at least have a deeper understanding of what we do.”

Grant is a long-serving member of DFMC, beginning with the original Dairy Farmers Co-Op. In 2002 he became a Ward Representative, in 2010 a Central and Southern NSW District Chair, and in 2013 a Board Director. Grant says his role as a director is to be a voice for farmers, so they can focus on their job.

“I’ve always thought the reason DFMC exists is to do all of the negotiating and the policy making that is beyond the farm gate, because if individual farmers have to run around negotiating a price or getting the best deal, they’re losing effectiveness on-farm,” Grant said.

“Today’s farmers have to specialise in what they’re doing, and that’s producing great milk.”

As far as the challenges currently facing industry, Grant says “Sometimes challenges are exactly that: they are challenges. They make you re-evaluate the situation and make necessary changes; often bringing out the best in you and your business.”

“We’ve been encouraged to make a few improvements and become more focused and efficient. I can give examples of our better nutrient applications and better pasture growth, and how the development of our dairy steers has become integral to our business – these are changes that we made because of the challenges we faced.”

From left to right: William, Georgia, Grant and Samuel Sherborne. Picture: Jane Sherborne.

December Christmas functions with Lion Dairy & Drinks

DFMC and Lion invited members to attend one of the following events in their region during November & December:

  • Crestmead, Brisbane: Wednesday 21 December, Kensington Tavern
  • Malanda: Thursday 22 December, Malanda RSL
  • Sunshine Coast / Gympie: Thursday 6 December, Gympie RSL
  • Harrisville: Thursday 6 December, McInnes farm for a BBQ
  • Oakey: Friday 7 December, Oakley RSL
  • NSW South Coast: Tuesday 11 December, Kangaroo Valley Country Club
  • NSW Central West: Wednesday 12 December, Orange Ex services club
  • Hunter Valley: Thursday 13 December, Muswellbrook, Balmoral House
  • NE Victoria: Thursday  13 December, King River Café, Oxley

Some pictures from our Christmas event in Echuca earlier this month, with DFMC and Lion suppliers from the Northern Victoria region.

Merry Christmas from DFMC

We would like to wish all of our members a very merry Christmas and thank you for your work this year.

Thank you also to the DFMC & Lion suppliers who attended each Christmas event this month. It was great to catch up with you all and we look forward to working with you in the coming year!

DFMC gets seat on dairy leader roundtable

DFMC Chair Andrew Burnett represented members at a roundtable meeting of dairy leaders held in Brisbane on 8 October.

Participants at the dairy roundtable meeting, 8 October 2018 (Photo: Joel Fitzgibbon MP, Facebook page).

Hosted by Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP, the roundtable sought to gather industry input on the ACCC dairy inquiry report and the proposed mandatory code of conduct.

All the major processors, including Lion Dairy & Drinks, and major retailers were present as was Senator Kim Carr Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, and Queensland Senator Chris Ketter, Chair of the Economics References Committee.

“It’s important for DFMC to work with both sides of politics in a bipartisan manner,” said Andrew. “We wanted to be present at the roundtable to ensure our farmers were represented and their perspective shared.

“The main messages I communicated were the value of collective bargaining groups – such as DFMC – but that collective bargaining groups alone were not enough.

“The current market limits the capacity of farmers to pass their production costs fairly and reasonably up the supply chain, leaving otherwise viable, efficient and productive farmers in a challenging business situation.”

DMFC hopes to continue conversations with politicians interested in supporting the long-term viability and sustainability of Australia’s dairy industry.

Setting high milk quality standards

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

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

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

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

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

Drying off process

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

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

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

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

Reducing cell counts

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

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

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

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

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

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

A quality base

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

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

Meet a director: James Geraghty

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lion to sell Lion Dairy & Drinks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Consumers’ milk choice can benefit dairy farmers in the dry

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Media information

Gabrielle Sheehan or 03 9670 6599 at Currie Communications.

DFMC Chair Andrew Burnett is available for interview

Ten cents extra for branded milk will help dairy farmers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Media information

Gabrielle Sheehan
Currie Communications
www.curriecommunications.com.au

DFMC welcomes new director and WRAC members

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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