Singleton farmer Max Wake fights to build new dairy on floodplain
A Hunter Valley, NSW, dairy farmer says he has been told by the local council he cannot build a new dairy on his land as it is located on a floodplain.
Max Wake and his son Gavin were busy last week organising repairs to the centre pivots used to irrigate their property located on the Hunter River floodplain at Whittingham, NSW.
Standing on land where the Wake family hope to build a new multi-million dollar dairy and cow feed pad facility, last month's mud has swiftly been replaced by dust - the cycle of life on the land.
Despite the current dryness of the site selected for the family's proposed dairy infrastructure, Max Wake said had received a verbal rejection from Singleton Council's planning department that the development application (DA), submitted by Pittman Building Services, could not proceed as it is located on a floodplain.
Floodplain developments are currently front of mind for many councils following record flooding this year.
Singleton Council spokesperson said the council was in receipt of a DA for an upgrade of an existing dairy shed at Whittingham.
"The proposal is located in a high hazard floodway as identified in council's flood mapping. Council is currently assessing the application. No determination has been made," the spokesperson said.
Mr Wake, who has been dairying on the property for 47 years, said the selected site was not impacted during the most recent flood in July.
"In fact in the second highest flood on this property since 1955, in June 2007, the water was only lapping at the bottom wire of this fence," he said pointing to the fence on the nearby paddock.
"We are prepared to build the site up a metre with fill, that will cost several hundred thousand dollars, to ensure the building is out of flood.
"I know at this stage it is just a verbal rejection, but I hope council would be prepared to take a site visit and discuss the proposal with us."
Mr Wake said two years ago council approved a hayshed adjacent to the dairy infrastructure site.
This shed was not impacted by the two floods this year and Mr Wake said why take a different approach now when it was fine to build on this section of the floodplain in 2020.
Gavin Wake said the family wanted to spend in the vicinity of $4 million to improve the farm's efficiency and productivity, create a better work environment for workers and improve cow comfort.
"This farm supports four families, is the major supplier to the Hunter Belle brand of milk, cheese and other dairy products and we want to continue to grow the business in a changing environment," he said.
"Our existing dairy is well and truly past its used-by date with the new dairy capable of handling 250 cows/hour where we are currently only milking 80 cows/hour in the existing dairy.
"We have to build this infrastructure to survive."
The Wake family's existing herringbone dairy is now the oldest one still operating in the Hunter.
Keeping with the family tradition of adopting emerging technologies, they wish to now build a new facility, which Max Wake said would lift the herd's milk production from 23 litres/cow/day to 30litres/cow/day.
"That's a huge difference in terms of productivity," he said.
Gavin said the feed pad, where the milking herd would be housed, would allow the business to use water far more efficiently as they would opt to grow corn rather than rely on pastures to feed the milking herd.
"With the two centre pivots it just makes economic and environmental sense to grow corn silage and feed that to the cows. We have to make the most of that water and this management system is proven to do that," he said.
At the heart of their operation is their nationally acclaimed Benleigh Brown Swiss stud.
Source: Louise Nichols, Farmonline National, 8 December 2022
Hundreds of farmers in the lower Manning River could be driven out of business under rule changes that will cut them off from water for weeks
Hundreds of farmers in the lower Manning River area on the NSW north coast could be driven out of business under rule changes that will cut them off from water for weeks.
Dairy businessman Ben Woodhouse said the proposed changes in the draft water sharing plan released last month came as a complete shock to the Manning River Water Users Association
"These draft proposals threaten the future viability of our farming operation in the lower Manning valley," he said. "There was apparently a targeted consultation process in July 2021 but myself and other members were not contacted until December 2021."
Mr Woodhouse is talking about the Draft Water Sharing Plan for the Lower North Coast Unregulated and Alluvial Water Sources, which was released in January on public exhibition and is only open for submission until February 27.
It covers the Great Lakes, the Manning and Karuah valleys - including rivers such as the Manning, Karuah, Gloucester and their tributaries.
The Water Sharing Plan sets the rules for water management including limits on the total volume of water that can be extracted. The final plan is expected to come into force on July 1 this year and last for 10 years.
Water Sharing Plans are designed to protect, and where possible enhance and restore, the condition of the water sources and their water-dependent ecosystems. A key objective is also to maintain, and improve access to water to optimise economic benefits for agriculture, water-dependent industries and local economies.
However, the draft plan includes drastic changes that will leave lower Manning River farmers cut off from water and unable to grow crops in one in four years.
This is because the draft released in January proposes that lower Manning farmers cease to pump water when river flows fall below 98ML a day, instead of the 31ML a day trigger in the original draft plan released in 2016.
For farmers, that is the difference between surviving droughts or being forced out of business.
Mr Woodhouse said the plan spells disaster for his 750-cow dairy herd operated as Manning Valley Dairy. He purchased the 325-hectare property near Wingham two years ago based on its access to reliable water, good soils and location.
He has since spent in excess of $1 million on water infrastructure to maximise water efficiency and on-farm feed production, to reduce reliance on bought-in feed/hay and as a part of a more sustainable approach to production.
His aim is to establish a vertically integrated 'paddock to plate' enterprise. He is a director of Maxum Foods, which is based in Brisbane and is a leading supplier and manufacturer of dairy ingredients to the food, health and animal nutrition industries.
The company specialises in supplying medium to large-scale food manufacturers with high-quality dairy ingredients such as milk powders, cheese and butter.
Currently the Wingham farm, which employs 14 people, is the largest supplier to the Woolworths Farmer Own brand of fresh milk.
The Manning River Water Users Association is extremely concerned on the effects not only to their own businesses, but the local community. We all employ and buy locally and this will put a lot of pressure on our community.
"What we are doing on the farm and what we were planning, will lessen our environmental footprint.- Ben Woodhouse
"What we are doing on the farm and what we were planning, will lessen our environmental footprint. Our upgraded irrigation infrastructure will reduce our reliance on over 150 hay trucks (per annum) delivering feed to our farm. If we lose this water, this initiative will be a complete waste of time, money and increase our environmental impact majorly - potentially causing us to close down our operation completely," he said.
"Under the draft plan the proposed cease to pump (CTP) access rules (137ML/ day rising and 98ML/ day falling) are inconsistent with the 2016 Draft proposal (50ML/ day rising and 31ML/ day falling), which the Manning River Water Users Association have been operating under.
"We are just asking that the Lower Manning is brought back in line with the rest of the river."
The Manning River Water Users Association seeks to further engage with government to seek improved outcomes for water users, government and the environment.
Source: Louise Nichols, Farmonline National, 21 February 2022