Dairy Farmers Technology Program: It’s a wrap!
The end of June marks the close of eastAUSmilk’s Dairy Farmers Technology Program. Over the course of the program, 2 grant rounds were open to dairy farmers across Queensland for investments in new technologies around the farm. This included but were not limited to heat detection equipment, automation and herd ID systems. 21 projects were completed and new technologies adopted, resulting in a range of benefits including labour savings and better work environments, improved animal health, early detection of mastitis, better heat detection and energy savings.
Training was the focus of the project, with John Van Bergen from Jantec Systems, presenting in the Southern Downs, Toowoomba, Gympie, the Scenic Rim and the Atherton Tablelands with over 65 attendees. The training focused on learning about the available technologies and exploring the herd ID system.
The Finley Farm Tour was a late add on to the project, which was held in March and brought down 35 farmers from all parts of Queensland into Finley, New South Wales. Ex- TC Jasper impacted the trip due to airport closures and localised flooding, a second smaller trip was held in the second week of May for attendees who were impacted by the cyclone. The trips visited 8 different dairy farms across the region and 1 farm in Northern Victoria. Standout technologies seen on farm included robotic dairy systems, automatic teat scrubbers and accurate feed mix programs managed by an app.
These dairy farms showcase dairy businesses at scale and systems which are suitable for the accessibility (to number processing factories) and climate of the Riverina.
Undoubtedly, there are some technologies, management practices and systems which can’t be replicated in the sub- and tropical regions of Queensland. Attendees could pick different learnings or practices that could be applied to their own businesses or farms.
Each trip was concluded with a tour of the irrigation channel systems, as the area is supplied from the Murray River at Lake Mulwala with majority of the cropping areas being flood irrigated. Water delivery is gravity fed and controlled by an app by the farmers, automation of this system was transferred from a manual system in 1995.
The chance to deliver a program as robust at the Dairy Farmers Technology Uptake Program was only achieved through Queensland Government’s ‘Bush Boost Fund’; the hospitality of the hosting farms and the companies that presented. Following on from the state and federal elections we look forward to new opportunities to continue to build rural communities, the regional economy and robust dairy farming businesses.
Many thanks to John (Jantec); Nick & Jordan; Marcus; Christian; Sam, Ellie & Rob; Ruth & Neville; Lachlan, Jenn, Adam & Lindsay; Ian, Karen, Amy, James & Emma; Allistair; and Rachael & Craig; Adam and Joe (Garlock) and Tom and the team from Murray Irrigators limited for their time and contributions to the program.
Jade Chan, eastAUSmilk Project Manager