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
Long term recovery after a disaster and the need of financial assistance to support farm businesses recover
Extreme flood and weather events have been impacting dairy farms in Queensland and New South Wales since the break of the drought in 2020. Starting with flood events of Tropical Cyclone Seth what followed was a relentless number of floods and cyclones causing devastation from Atherton Tablelands in the North all the way through to NSW’s South Coast.
These events have set back businesses, with herds being wiped out and affected by ongoing cases of mastitis and footrot or lameness; floodwaters eroding country, flooding the milking parlour and destroying infrastructure; and disrupting seasonal planting and harvesting of pastures and/or crops.
Flood events have become more prevalent and extreme, affecting the immediate recovery of farms and business reinstatement. Farmers have been looking towards improving their resilience towards extreme environmental conditions and focusing on capital infrastructure that can house their herds or provide temporary shelter from the wet conditions. Free stall, compost or loafing barns and feed pads are some examples of dairy systems we will see more of in the future. Other investments into technology such has cow collars which monitor individual animal health or somatic cell count sensors to aid in early detection of mastitis and allow for early intervention have been successfully adopted. However, large capital and even smaller investments that improves the businesses’ ability to manage poor weather conditions only becomes attainable when cash flow isn’t being severely affected by countless natural disasters.
Financial assistance in the form of grants, subsidies and loans made available by the federal and respective state governments have been instrumental in assisting the recovery for dairy farm businesses.
Financial assistance from TC Alfred has been made available in Queensland, financial assistance from TC Alfred and NSW Mid-North Coast Floods are available to NSW farmers. Grant funding will be essential for these farms to recover.
Last year, eastAUSmilk’s team have collectively assisted 29 farm businesses in Qld to access disaster recovery funding and emergency freight subsidies and 11 in NSW. We are continuing to assist dairy farmers across New South Wales and Queensland.
Industry differences and understanding what successful recovery for individual agricultural industries should be considered when delivering these programs and during the development of the guidelines. This will ensure farm businesses are getting the right assistance to continue and resume as close to normal production prior to the disaster but also inform future programs to build and improve farm resilience to these catastrophic weather events.
Jade Chan, eastAUSmilk Project Manager