Embracing community collaboration in Northeastern NSW

EastAUSmilk staff Eric Danzi, Lynelle Rogers and I were invited to attend this month’s farm walk at Darryl and Coral Rose’s dairy farm in Goolmangar NSW. There was a good turnout of 24 people including other farmers, as well as representatives from Norco, Subtropical dairy and NSW Natural Resources Access Regulator and Rabobank. It proved to be an excellent opportunity to provide an overview of what we do, catch up with members and connect with other organizations in the area, as well as being great to see farmers supporting each other.

After some friendly introductions and a cup of tea, the group had an open discussion on the successes and challenges on their own farms. NRAR facilitated discussion on future water allocations and metering requirements as well as offering support to farmers planning ahead for likely changes. The use of drones was also discussed, and it was somewhat surprising to hear how widely they are used in the area when growing fodder crops, for spraying, fertilizing and even seeding. They have proven particularly useful when planting uneven paddocks and even more so when wet, where it would be difficult or impossible to work paddocks with a tractor. Future milk prices were also a topic of debate with little confidence in them either rising or falling, leading to some hesitance to make any major investments until they can be confirmed one way or another.

We visited several other member’s farms while in the area which was a great opportunity to visualize the different methods and goals of each and to help gauge areas where we can provide support and potential avenues to extend our services. Having only recently incorporated NSW into our member base, putting faces to names and understanding their individual goals and needs is invaluable for providing services where they are needed the most.

EastAUSmilk aims to hold an on-farm workshop at Lismore in April to facilitate additional discussion on key points of interest for our members, including a look at a newly installed feed mixer and calf shed, as well as topsoil mapping, RFID collars and drones for various uses. This is something we will be looking to continue across all regions in the future to promote new ideas and technologies within the industry as well as address any arising concerns from members.

Letisha Johnson, Project Officer eastAUSmilk