Cattle underpass program’s $2m boost
Dairy farmers in any disaster declared LGA since 2019 will be eligible for up to 70 per cent of related underpass costs.
Interested producers can find out what is required to apply and lodge an application at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/cattleunderpass
Dairy Australia provides resources for managing wet conditions
Dairy farmers across Australia, particularly on the east coast, are again dealing with wet conditions and floods this spring and summer.
The third successive La Nina event means above average rainfall is forecast for many Australian dairy regions.
Dairy Australia has a number of resources available to help dairy farmers to manage wet conditions and to prepare for and recover from floods.
Floods can be unpredictable and destructive.
It is easy to become overwhelmed after a flood event.
A flood can also affect power supply to the farm.
Preparing for power outages helps farmers develop a contingency plan that will save time and keep the dairy operational during a power outage.
Floods can isolate farmers from their community, damage infrastructure, cut essential services, cause death or injuries and result in costly dumped milk.
Being ready with a contingency plan will save time and help keep the dairy operational.
Forward planning a team approach and practice are the key steps to minimise disruption to the business.
Recovery from any natural disaster can be slow, stressful and costly so it is worth spending time at least once a year to discuss areas of business risk with family and employees.
Animal welfare
When conditions get wet, the risk of mastitis and lameness can both increase.
After a flood, farmers should thoroughly assess sick or injured stock - if recovery is unlikely (e.g. from clinical mastitis or lameness), consider culling or humane euthanasia.
Write down an inventory of feed availability and accessibility - use it to budget daily cow requirements.
Wherever possible make feed mix changes slowly.
After a major flood event, cows may be unsettled and continuity of feed intake may be disrupted for a few days.
Try to use 'safer' feeds such as hay/silage or pasture as the main component of the diet until the cows settle back into a routine.
Milk yields may suffer initially but should recover within a few days.
Check damp hay stores for risk of spontaneous combustion.
If labour resources allow; reduce the risk of clinical mastitis by the following steps:
• Wash and dry all teats before cups go on (always use new paper towel for each cow).
• Strip cows every day to detect, treat and isolate clinical days.
• Ensure all surfaces of all four teats are covered with teat disinfectant.
• Keep teats clean and dry for at least an hour after the cows leave the shed.
• Set up feeding and other routines so cows don't lie down soon after milking.
To manage lameness:
• Identify lame cows and separate into smaller groups, close to the dairy, on the best feed available - consider milking them once a day.
• Treat lame cows as soon as possible.
• Be patient when moving all cows - tell staff to expect it to take twice as long as usual. Reschedule staff working hours to accommodate the change in routine.
• Try to keep yard concrete clear of stones to reduce injury to soft feet.
• Consider using material (more than 30 centimetres deep) over damaged parts of the laneways to reduce injury to cow's feet (within 30m of dairy yard) such as wood chips, sawdust, limestone.
To manage downer cows:
• Provide feed, water, bedding and shelter for downer cows. If there is not enough time to provide an appropriate level of nursing care, including lifting and regular assessments, people must consider humanely euthanase the cow.
• Downer cows must never be left in the paddock without feed, water, bedding, shelter and confinement or left hanging in hip clamps.
Keep an impact diary
Dairy Australia recommends farmers keep an impact diary after a natural disaster. This records the impact the disaster has had on the farm.
Keeping an impact diary is an important part of the recovery process from any natural disaster as it substantiates any claims for grant funding applications or assistance packages. The impact diary records any costs, time and resources devoted to clean up tasks and enables a better estimate of financial loss.
Use a phone or digital cameras to take photos of any damage and/or water levels for insurance claims and to help future planning. See Dairy Australia website for more information.
Source: The Land, 8 November 2022
Outgoing Australian Dairy Farmers chief executive David Inall says farm advocacy faces challenges
Farmer advocacy is facing a funding crunch, according to outgoing Australian Dairy Farmers chief executive officer David Inall.
This is occurring at the same time as increasing demands are being placed on farmer representative organisations.
After 31 years in farm advocacy roles here and in the United States, Mr Inall is moving out of the sector at the end of this week, having accepted the position of CEO with the Master Grocers Australia, an employer organisation for 2700 independent retailers across Australia.
He said things had changed significantly since he started as a policy officer with the NSW Dairy Farmers Association in 1991.
"Over time the resourcing of peak commodity groups and state farming organisations has decreased significantly," he said.
And no one has been able to identify a solution to the problem.
"The NFF (National Farmers Federation) is on their third review of ag representation," Mr Inall said.
Options such as sponsorship had been tried but hadn't succeeded.
"The money is still in the industry, but how do those organisations access it," he said. "The model is outdated."
Increasing demands
Mr Inall said the demands placed on farmer representative organisations had increased in the time since he was first involved.
In the digital age, governments moved fast on issues while global issues also played a bigger role.
This had created a resources strain.
ADF had a staffing level of 3.5 that needed to be across a wide raft of issues.
"One of the things I pride myself on is the good team I've had for five years," Mr Inall said.
The key had been to focus on key areas where ADF could deliver results.
He nominated $1 milk ending and the dairy code of conduct as two wins during his time as CEO.
Many organisations and individuals played a part in creating noise around $1 milk and highlighting it was a bad deal for dairy farmers.
"But where ADF really comes in is we're the national voice of reason," Mr Inall said.
"Right at the very end, we were there to have very sensitive and discreet conversations with Woolworths that led to that announcement when Woolworths were going up 10 cents."
ADF played a key role in the development and implementation of the dairy code of conduct.
"That's been the most significant government intervention project in the industry that I can recall for some considerable time," Mr Inall said.
"And while many organisations may like to claim ownership, rest assured that it was ADF that did a lot of legwork to get that over the line and particularly developing content for it."
Mr Inall said some of this work necessarily was behind the scenes.
"You know it's a bit of a tightrope to walk, where you don't necessarily want to upset the people that you're dealing with, but you also need your members to know what's going on," he said.
Mr Inall said effectively communicating with farmers was a challenge with limited resources.
ADF used the media and provided updates via email but the most effective way was to talk directly with farmers.
"There is no better way to communicate than actually be face to face, actually get out on the road and be sitting in front of a whole lot of farmers and have these discussions," he said.
"The budget really just doesn't allow it - it's a big country obviously to get around."
ADF tried to make the most of limited resources by holding meetings with farmers in conjunction with the state dairy farming organisations but it was still challenging.
Big issues
Mr Inall nominated labour as the biggest issue facing the dairy industry. He said he was aware of farmers who had sold their cows and got out of the industry simply they did not have staff to effectively run the business.
"We know there's multi levels to this as we've found through our agricultural workforce strategy," he said.
"We've taken an election platform to the government, which I think is one of the best pieces of work ADF has done, we took 38 policy ideas to government and we are now starting to work through those."
Labour issues were everything from getting people to work on farms, getting visas and the backpacker resource not being what it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The key to solving the problem long term was promoting dairy as a career, which was happening through programs like Cows Create Careers.
Mr Inall said in his role in the past five years he had met with participants in the young farmer study tours and was impressed with the quality of people attracted to the industry.
"There's clearly a lot of smart, young ambitious people out there and they have my utmost respect," he said.
"So the industry is still attracting people like that, which is great.
"What I'd love to see is for those people to get more involved in the advocacy side."
Static production levels in Australia, even with buoyant prices, were also an issue.
The industry needed to work out how to create pathways for people who wanted to be involved to be able to milk cows.
The other big global issue was around animal welfare and environmental stewardship and increasing demands being placed on farmers around these.
But there had to be a balance there in terms of farmers being able to keep on producing.
But increasingly I believe what works well for agriculture ... is you need to work with the government as a partner in our business. – David Inall
Mr Inall pointed to the Australian Dairy Industry Sustainability Framework as helping to achieve that balance for the industry.
The sustainability debate highlighted the other big change that had occurred in the relationship between farmers and their organisations and governments.
"If I think back to '70s and '80s, which was before my time, but certainly in the '90s, there was this sense that if agriculture wasn't happy, one way - almost a leading way - in which you would respond would be to take on the government," Mr Inall said.
"And whether it was marching in Canberra or certainly putting out aggressive media statement showing the government's got it all wrong.
"Now that's still important and, as a lobbyist, I'd say that it's critically important that the government knows that you're there to hold them to account and they know that you're going to call them out if we think they've got it wrong.
"But increasingly I believe what works well for agriculture ... is you need to work with the government as a partner in our business."
Mr Inall said it was vital to have good relationships with people in the departments advising governments, as well as with the ministers and government members.
"What I pride myself in doing is building a reputation so that they know that ADF is the trusted body," he said.
Noumi’s $30m AFMH farming exit gives Perich, New Hope equal stakes
The tussle between China's biggest agribusiness and Australia's biggest dairy industry family over who gets an extra 9.4 per cent stake in big dairy farming venture Australian Fresh Milk Holdings has ended with both parties taking something home.
Dairy and plant protein processor, Noumi, will be paid almost $30 million as it officially offloads its foundation stake in the farming business today.
Noumi is Australia's biggest long life milk processor whose brands include Australia's Own, Vitalife, So Natural and MilkLab.
Its ties to Australian Fresh Milk Holdings date back to a four-way partnership established in 2015, which has grown into the giant 6200-milker operation, Moxey Farms, in NSW and northern Victoria.
Noumi shareholders last week voted to sell 53pc of its AFMH stake (11.5 million shares) to the Perich family's Leppington Pastoral Company for $16.7m and almost 44pc (8.9m shares) to NewAustralia, a subsidiary of China's big New Hope Group, for $12.9m.
The wash up means the Perich family, which is also a long-time majority Noumi stakeholder and has its own farms running about 2000 dairy cows south west of Sydney, now holds an equal 43.2pc of AFMH with New Hope.
The remaining third stakeholder, the Moxey family at Gooloogong in Central West NSW, stays at 13.6pc.
AFMH produces 180m litres of milk annually on farms in NSW's Lachlan Valley and near Shepparton in northern Victoria and has a 4000-hectare Murray River heifer raising aggregation west of Echuca.
This year its farming interests also expanded to include the Ladysmith Feedlot and associated fodder cropping country near Wagga Wagga.
Milk from its farms goes to Noumi, Bega Dairy and Drinks and the A2 Milk Company.
Last month Noumi looked set to sell all its AFMH shares to the Perich's Leppington Pastoral for about $28.6 million, or $1.40 each.
However, New Hope's NewAustralia subsidiary, upped the stakes to offer $1.45 each, giving the shares a total value of $29.65m.
Until now NewAustralia had been AFMH's largest shareholder by a slight margin, but the parties settled on dividing Noumi's portion to leave both bidders with an equal ownership footing.
Perich investment
In addition to an enlarged AFMH stake, the Perich's have been at the forefront of funding a turnaround in Noumi's business fortunes after the processor almost collapsed under the weight of an accounting and inventory scandal and management shakeup in 2020, which required a $265m recapitalisation.
The Perich family currently holds 52.5pc of Noumi, while former dairy farm manager, Michael Perich, has been managing director since the sudden departure of Rory Macleod two years ago.
The family also owns cropping country at West Wylong, big parcels of former dairy farmland being developed for housing at Oran Park, part of the Narellan Town Centre shopping precinct and dairy factory assets.
Noumi's exit from AFMH will help pay a total $25.7m in quarterly installments over four years after the company last year settled a legal dispute with US almond marketing co-operative, Blue Diamond Growers, over unpaid accounts, and licence fees for use of its brand in Australia.
Good result
Company chair, Genevieve Gregor, said the AFMH share sale would reap a return to the processor at the upper end of an independent valuation which had ranged from $1.32/share to $1.49.
Only 3.1pc of Noumi shareholders opposed the sale at last week's extraordinary general meeting.
If the sell-off had been rejected, Ms Gregor said Noumi would likely have been forced to divert its operating cash flow to fund obligations to Blue Diamond Growers.
"This would not be ideal," she said.
"It would reduce the company's available liquidity and would constrain our ability to fund our transformation and growth initiatives."
About $4.6m left over after covering the Blue Diamond commitment will be used to cover Noumi's other general expenses.
Ongoing challenges
Those expenses include other ongoing legal wrangles with shareholders who launched class actions against Freedom, and coffee merchandiser, Sunday Collab International, which claims Freedom reneged on plans for a MilkLab distribution deal to Europe and wants $24.7m in compensation.
Australian championship surfer, Joel Parkinson, a partner in Sunday Collab who helped negotiate his business' MilkLab plan for Europe, is seeking to recover losses suffered as a result of Noumi allegedly walking away from the 2019 agreement and refusing to communicate further.
Noumi had apparently delivered Milklab products and marketing and packaging materials for brand launches in Italy in late 2019 and at London's Coffee Festival in early 2020.
In a media comment last week Sunday Collab said following Noumi's management and board spill in August 2020, the processor repeatedly denied there was any partnership in place, or any obligation owed to the coffee business.
Noumi has described Sunday Collab's claims as without merit and unsupportable and said it would defend the action in the Supreme Court of Queensland.
Dairy Sustainability Framework celebrates 10th anniversary
When the Australian dairy industry developed its Sustainability Framework in 2012, it was a landmark achievement that put the Australian dairy at the forefront of sustainable food production globally.
Australian dairy led the way, becoming the first agricultural sector to take an industry-wide approach to tackling sustainability through the development of a comprehensive framework.
In 2015, the Australian dairy industry was recognised for these pioneering efforts by being named the winner of the Food for Sustainable Thought Award at the Banksia Sustainability Awards.
Designed to be responsive to the changing global landscape, the Australian Dairy Industry Sustainability Framework is based around Australian dairy's core promise to provide nutritious food for a healthier world.
Through the framework, the industry reports against that promise and its commitments to dairy people, the community's wellbeing, animals and the environment.
A decade on from the initial development of the framework and the urgency around the need for developing long-term sustainability is as great as ever, as highlighted by the recent catastrophic bushfire and flood events.
Much remains to be done but the Australian dairy industry can be proud of what it has achieved thus far.
The release of the 10-year anniversary report of the Australian Dairy Sustainability Framework was timed to coincide with World Milk Day on June 1, a day of celebration for the dairy industry worldwide.
The report provides highlights from the dairy industry's sustainability journey over the past 10 years and confirms our commitment to continuous improvement so that dairy continues to be part of a healthy, nutritious, affordable and sustainable diet.
Overall, there has been a 23.5 per cent reduction in dairy manufacturers' emissions intensity since 2010/11, with 94pc of dairy farmers now implementing some measures to reduce emissions on-farm to reduce environmental impact.
There has also been significant improvement in how the industry approaches animal care in the last decade.
Research shows that 100pc of dairy farmers now support compliance with animal welfare standards, with most going well beyond this to ensure the best possible care for their animals.
In terms of dairy's role in improving the wellbeing of people, 88pc of general practitioners now feel confident in recommending dairy as a part of a balanced diet.
Investment by Dairy Australia in research has also shown that dairy reduces fractures in aged care residents by 33pc.
Australian Dairy also now plays a major role in enhancing people's livelihoods and our country's economic viability.
Dairy companies generate $15.7 billion in sales and support 70,000 full-time jobs.
Importantly, the Australian Dairy Industry Sustainability Framework is fully aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
The framework also includes targets that set the industry's sights for continuous improvement, with indicators and metrics for measuring and reporting progress.
The Australian dairy industry can be justifiably proud of the fact that it supports national and global commitments to net zero emissions.
The industry's commitment to sustainability has been an integral element of the success of the first ten years of the framework.
In their foreword to the framework's 10-year anniversary report, Graeme Nicoll (chair - Dairy Sustainability Steering Committee) and Rick Gladigau (chair - Australian Dairy Industry Council) wrote that:
"In 2022, the urgency of managing sustainability risks such as climate change is increasing," they wrote.
"So, too, is the pace of change in our operating environment. As a result, the framework continues to evolve. It is, after all, a living document that responds to changes in needs and events.
"The dairy industry's vision of sustainable development is as clear today as it was a decade ago. We remain at the forefront of sustainable food production. We intend to still be there in 10 years from now - and beyond."
Action taken over the past 10 years has shown that the Australian dairy industry is serious about being sustainable.
For more information about the internationally recognised Australian Dairy Industry Sustainability Framework and the dairy industry's commitments to its people, animals, the community and planet visit website dairy.com.au
Source: The Land, 6 August 2022
'Bonfires of burning animals': NSW dairy farmers warn of foot and mouth disease outbreak
NSW Southern Highlands dairy farmer Bill Smillie paints an apocalyptic picture of what a foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak really looks like.
"You would be driving along roads and there were just bonfires of burning animals," he said.
"It was a pretty ordinary time to be over there. It was incredible to be honest."
The owner of Moss Vale, NSW, Highland Organics was working in the United Kingdom during an outbreak of the disease in 2001 and said it 'decimated' the livestock industry.
"It decimated parts of the country, everything had to be slaughtered," he explained to the Southern Highland News.
"My cousin's farm, he actually didn't have FMD but the farm two farms away had it so they had to slaughter every animal on his place."
FMD affects hoofed animals such as cows, pigs and sheep, giving them lesions on their mouths and feet that can prevent them from eating and can lead to lameness and death.
It's currently infecting animals on Indonesian farms and authorities are concerned it will make its way to Australia. One of the ways it can enter the country is via dirt on people's clothes and shoes.
On Monday (July 25) federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt asked state counterparts for their opinions on a National Biosecurity Strategy.
It follows the recent varroa mite outbreak in NSW, a parasite deadly to European honey bees which make up the bulk of Australia's honey industry.
Hives near the detection site at Port of Newcastle have been destroyed and it is feared further detection of FMD will lead to similar measures for livestock.
Fellow dairy farmer Tim Cochrane called for people returning from places like Bali to burn their thongs so he wouldn't have to burn his cows.
"I'm telling people to burn their thongs, not our cows," Mr Cochrane told the South Coast Register.
"You can easily bring the disease into our country on infected soil trapped on your shoes."
Mr Cochrane and his two brothers own approximately 2000 cows. He issued a dire warning for what an FMD outbreak would do to the region.
"Think of this, 20,000 cows in the Shoalhaven all dead," Mr Cochrane said.
"I say 20,000 because if one cow or farm gets infected in Nowra, they will have to deal with every cow in Nowra.
"You think things are expensive now? If this happens and it gets in, cattle will have to be killed and the price of beef, milk, these essentials will sky rocket."
As for Mr Smillie, he's optimistic authorities are on high alert but warned against complacency.
"You would hope no one is going to be taken by surprise, especially the authorities," he said.
"They must know the danger and I certainly hope they're putting in place all the protocols.
"Hopefully the general population is well aware of what can happen. If you're travelling, be responsible, take it seriously."
Manning Valley producers says there is no resilience left after latest flood emergency one year after the big one
Mid North Coast dairy farmers struggling with repeated wet weather are taking drastic steps to keep their farms viable.
Last week's inundation delivered 300mm in three hours to the Neal family's operation on Oxley Island in the lower Manning, covering 150 hectares of their best-producing paddocks for a week and drowning winter feed that had been planted three times so far.
"We need water to farm but it's been a challenging time," said James Neal who runs 1500 head of dairy cattle but sent 500 young stock away to Walcha on agistment. "We have been flat-out feeding hay, silage and grain to all the remaining stock for past four months."
The fifth-generation dairy farmer usually tops the charts on somatic cell count but in the current climate with mud everywhere more time is needed to wash clean teats at on the 60 head rotary dairy in order to keep mastitis somewhat at bay.
The Norco supplier was thrilled to receive a rise of 12 cents a litre in this year's contract but when he sat down and crunched the numbers was dismayed to discover he was no better off than last year as a result of a massive rise in nearly all input costs.
"It's tough on everybody. We feel we're not going forward and in fact right now we're making a loss.
Supermarkets count on a 15 per cent to 20 per cent return every year, while the average NSW dairy farmer last year struggled to achieve 4.9pc for all the risk of working in an extremely variable climate, seven days a week.
"We are lucky to to have the Norco cooperative up here leading the milk price, as the other international processors only opened with a five cent increase, but later matched Norco when they were going to lose supply to the co-op.
Mr Neal praised the timeliness of government disaster assistance which "stopped many from going under both financially and mentally.
"Farmers hate being reliant on these disaster grants, but there is no fat left in the system after the run of poor seasonal conditions over the last few years. In the longer term we would rather have a more sustainable milk price, which factors in all risks we are exposed to, and allows us to put some money away for the next run of years, when we have these natural disasters."
Stewarts River dairy farmer Tim Bale is still waiting on his farmgate price as a member of Manning Valley Fresh which sells to Woolworths.
Rising inflation and floods have caused expensive setbacks in feed and production to the point that his farm is down in income $1000 a day.
Last week's flood was not nearly as severe as last year's record inundation yet delivered 17 inches or 431mm during 36 hours that caused waters to rise so quickly that cows were separated from the dairy by gullies that ran deeper than Mr Bale's head.
"We've had two metres of rain so far this year and 2300mm for the whole of last year. Our average annual rainfall is 1500mm, compared with 1050mm at Taree.
"We keep getting bashed but we're still here," Mr Bale says, while praising his manager manager Bryan Bartlett and neighbour Trent Dean for helping to wade out into paddocks and open gates before all working together to drive cows to safety.
"Once a few started moving the rest followed and when the last one went to cross the gully Bryan grabbed her tail for a tow," Mr Bale said. "I had to swim across."
Up to 450mm of rain falls in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven region, devastating farmers
Shoalhaven dairy farmers are again battling the elements as yet another east coast low dumps up to 450 millimetres of rain in four days.
Wogamia's Daniel Cochrane is currently milking 450 cows.
He says milk production is down by approximately 20 per cent.
Between 350-380mm of rain has fallen on the property located on the Shoalhaven River since the skies broke open on Friday.
"For us farmers here in the Shoalhaven, it's the second time in three months that we've had water up over the farms, and the river is still rising now," he said.
"Many farms had just dried out enough to sow winter and spring feed, and now it's all under water."
Daniel said the weather was taking a toll on farmers' mental health.
"I'm not sure how much more some people will be able to take," he said.
"It's not necessarily financially, but mentally."
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Nowra received 366mm, Kangaroo Valley 454mm, Robertson 562mm, Albion Park 477mm, Moss Vale 333mm and Kiama 429mm in the seven days to Wednesday, July 6.
While further north, Camden received 390mm.
Major flooding occurred along the Upper Nepean River at Menangle Bridge, which peaked at 16.61 metres on Sunday morning.
Major flooding is occurring along the Hawkesbury River at North Richmond where river levels peaked at 14.18m early Monday morning, followed by a second peak of 14.19m on Monday evening.
The Upper Nepean River at Menangle Bridge peaked at 16.61 metres around 07:50 am Sunday with major flooding.
The Hawkesbury River at North Richmond (WPS) peaked at 14.18 metres around 03:15 am Monday. Renewed rises were observed overnight Monday with a second peak of 14.19 metres around midnight Monday.
Pyree's Tracey Russell described the situation as heartbreaking.
"We worked so hard to get the seed in the ground, and now it is all under water again," she said.
"What little we did have has flown out the window."
Tracey will be forced to run nearly 1000 cows on just 5 hectares of land.
"Our cows spent that time here for the last three months following the last flood," she said.
"It's devastating. The cows ended up getting so sick with mastitis and sore feet, and they had nowhere to lay down. That was the biggest problem.
"They are freezing; they are really suffering. We've just got to keep the feed up to them; that's all we can do.
"I don't know what we are going to do this time.
"We have got some woodchip in to build a mound for them to be able to lay down."
Jim Hindmarsh & Son Nowra manager Jim Hindmarsh said a cattle supply shortage was inevitable.
"Last week, there was a severe drop in the restocker and feedlot markets, the meat market held its ground, but due to the wet weather, the supply has been taken out of the game," he said.
"There's going to be a shortage overall going to the processors."
Mr Hindmarsh had hoped the rain would steady on Monday, but it had not abated.
"This will have a major impact on farmers; with 300mm of rain, people won't be able to move cattle," he said.
"Thankfully, they were able to clear off cattle in the last few weeks before the rain hit."
Mr Hindmarsh was forced to call off Camden's Tuesday sale.
"The flood water is at the highest level since we have been operating there for 12 years, and a lot of people who have worked there much longer than that have said it was the highest they had ever seen," he said.
Colostrum’s impacts on milk production
DAIRY farmers statewide flocked to the South East earlier this month for the annual DairySA Dairy Innovation Day.
Speakers on the day were Dairy Australia's James Mann and Glenys Zucco, DairyBio's Jennie Price and DataGene's Peter Thurn.
Additionally, Agriculture Victoria Dairy Production Sciences research manager Bill Wales, Adelaide University pasture agronomy professor Kevin Smith and Mount Gambier vet and Adelaide University student Rebel Skirving spoke during concurrent sessions.
Dr Skirving presented her research project, Get It Right From the Start, on the day which aims to understand more about colostrum and its potential to program cows for the future.
"I started my PhD in 2020 at the start of the COVID lockdown which gave me a lot of time to read journal articles," she said.
"That came with the realisation there's a lot of information already out there about dairy cattle and how they work.
"But the more we find out about cows, the more we realise we actually don't know much about them at all.
"Every research project gets one answer, but then it creates six other questions."
One question Dr Skirving wanted answered was what impact colostrum had on the rest of a calf's life.
She said research showed piglets that received steady hormones through colostrum from a sow were more likely to become more fertile than those who were not receiving enough.
This led her to research the lactocrine hypothesis, which questions whether an animal's future can be changed by the milk they are fed or if their production is predetermined by their genetics.
"In 2018 a vet did a study looking at the early life events that can affect heifers in their first lactation, and one of the things she looked at was colostrum," Dr Skirving said.
"In her study, she found calves with good colostrum transfer did actually produce more milk at the first lactation.
"However, a year later, another vet did a similar study and her results showed that there was no effect of colostrum and the first lactation results."
Armed with a herd of 2668 calves spread across various dairies in the South East, Dr Skirving said she aimed to support one of the two previous studies, but was unsure what her results would show.
Each cow was blood tested and weighed on day one, then the same again on their first birthday.
Once the herd turns two, they will be blood tested, weighed and then pregnancy tested - this will continue each year as they get older.
Dr Skirving's study will be completed in 2027, and she said either outcome was favourable to the industry.
"If I can show that colostrum does change how a cow turns out then we put all the more effort into colostrum for calves," she said.
"If it turns out that it makes no difference to the milk production and fertility, then it takes the pressure off, because as long as that calf survives the first three months, the colostrum doesn't matter and we can use other genetic factors to make sure she still reaches her potential."
Milk processors roll out 2022/23 opening prices
While opening milk offers for the 2022/23 season have been solid, they still fall short of what is needed to help the industry's economic recovery, according to dairy farmer advocacy groups.
While early opening milk price announcements have set new records, soaring input costs, skilled labour shortages, and extreme weather conditions may prove too much for some dairy farmers who find themselves lured by exceptional land values or the relative simplicity of beef production.
The Dairy Mandatory Code of Conduct requires dairy processors to publish standard form milk supply agreements for the following financial year on their websites by June 1 at 2pm.
Minimum opening milk offers for the 2022/23 season, so far.
Milk Solids (MS)
Fonterra: $8.25/kgMS
Bulla: $8.30/kgMS
ADFC: Jul-Dec $8.40/kgMS, Jan-Jun $9.20, full year average payout $8.80/kgMS
Saputo: $8.50/kgMS
Lactalis: $8.80/kgMS (northern Victoria) and $8.65/kg/MS (western Victoria and Gippsland)
Beston: $8.75/kgMS
UDC: $8.50/kgMS
Goulburn Valley Creamery: $8.50/kgMS
DFMC: $10.96/kgMS (Far North Queensland); $11.21/kgMS (south-east Queensland); $10.71/kgMS (NSW); $8.64/kgMS (southern Victoria); $8.74/kgMS (northern Victoria); $8.87/kgMS (South Australia)
Cents a litre (c/L)
Norco: 83-85c/L
DFMC: 78.24c/L (Far North Queensland); 83.09c/L (south-east Queensland); 77.7c/L (NSW)
Gloucester, NSW, dairy farmer and eastAUSmilk vice-president Graham Forbes said while some of the price rises were substantial, they were not enough to cover input costs.
"Some input costs, such as fuel, have doubled, while fertiliser has increased by 250 per cent," he said.
"The challenges for farmers shortly will be input costs, the availability of products, rising interest rates, general inflation, and instability within the economy.
"Just last week, wheat hit $500 a tonne."
Mr Forbes milks a herd of 700-odd predominantly Holstein cows and supplies Norco.
He described it as "terrible" to see milk prices still at $1.30 a litre when they were the same price in 2011.
"No industry can sustain that,' he said.
"If we don't get the price up, the whole industry suffers.
"We've been pushing for a $2 a litre minimum price in supermarkets, which I don't think is unrealistic in today's world.
"Everything else has gone up in the supermarkets; nothing else has been held at a low price for so long."
Brian Cox, Meralyn Pastoral Co., Kerry, Queensland, supplies milk to Lactalis, South Brisbane.
The third-generation dairy farmer milks 120 Holstein and Holstein/Jersey cross cows.
"I think it is still early days, and I am hopeful that the price will increase as competition for milk increases,' he said.
Mr Cox said the Dairy Mandatory Code of Conduct had been positive for farmers and provided a sense of stability.
"I would like to think it rebalances the power between processors and farmers," he said.
"As farmers, we never knew what prices other companies were offering. Now the information is general knowledge.
"The Mandatory Code has been valuable because it gives us some certainty about our options."
Mr Cox spoke of the most significant challenges facing the dairy industry in the next 12-months.
"The weather has just been horrific, and we are not set up for this type of weather in Queensland or anywhere," he said.
"One Saturday night recently, I was walking around in the mud, getting rained on, and I thought, 'I don't know if we get paid enough for this'.
"I hope it will be recognised that there might be a milk shortage again this season."
Mr Cox believes more farmers may consider exiting the industry.
"For the last 12 to 18-months, it feels like dairy farmers have been exiting to beef," Mr Cox said.
"There's also a lot of competition for land at the moment.
"Speaking from a Queensland and northern NSW perspective, we are not seeing young farmers coming through.
"I'm in my 30s, and I could count other farmers the same age on the one hand, and I don't think there would be many, if any, in their 20s."
Soaring fertiliser, fuel and grain prices are also taking their toll on farm businesses.
"We have noticed that fertiliser has been going up for the last two to three years - all our inputs seem to be going the wrong way," Mr Cox said.
"We are choosing to weigh up if there are benefits to fertilising at the current prices.
"For the last five to10 years, we have constantly been seeking efficiencies to counter increasing costs and lagging milk price; yes, the price looks like it will move, but inflation and all our expenses seem to be moving faster.
"We're working on getting better and better, and we're running out of places to look for the cheap options.
"For many farmers, it won't matter what price they are offered for their milk, they could go to a dollar, and they're not interested.
"They have already decided they are exiting, so it is too little too late."
The latest Dairy Australia Situation and Outlook report has indicated that after successive seasons of recovering profitability, the net effect of rising fertiliser, fuel and grain costs on margins amid the conflict in Ukraine and ongoing COVID-19 disruptions is a crucial question as farmers and processors try to plan in a volatile market.
Dairy Australia's industry insights and analysis manager, John Droppert, said ongoing growth limitations and heightened margin risk are expected to offset good milk prices and favourable seasonal conditions, resulting in a comparatively flat milk pool totalling 8.6 billion litres nationally.
"The 2022/23 season will be marked by rising numbers throughout the supply chain - from production costs to farmgate prices, from commodity values to food expenditure," Mr Droppert said.
"Meanwhile, labour shortages remain a significant constraint, while high beef prices and soaring land values have enticed farmers and farmland away from dairy."
Australian dairy sector experiencing a chronic shortage of labour
ADF president Rick Gladigau has described dairy's labour shortage situation as "desperate".
Politicians are again being reminded that labour shortages must stay high on the agenda post this weekend's federal election.
Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) president Rick Gladigau said as in many other sectors in the Australian economy, dairy was experiencing a chronic shortage of labour as a consequence of the full employment rate and the slow opening of international borders post COVID-19.
Mr Gladigau described the situation as "desperate".
"Although exacerbated by COVID-19, this is not a new challenge and while we have made progress in advocating for an improved labour strategy and policy over the past 18 months, labour needs to be a priority for any incoming government," he said.
"In particular we need to see the ALP increase its offering to Australian dairy farmers and the wider dairy industry. In the final days leading up to the election, we remain unclear how an Albanese-led government will assist."
Mr Gladigau said there were still levers available that would further assist dairy farmers' day-to-day labour challenges.
He backed a call from Seniors Australia to exempt employment income from the age pension means test to boost workforce participation.
"The current means testing for the age pension discourages many older Australians from working," he said.
"Exempting work income from means testing means pensioners can return to work, and help meet critical labour shortages across dairy, and many other industries."
Deloitte Access Economics estimate that a 5 per cent increase in workforce participation from Australians over 55 would result in a $47.9 billion increase to GDP.
"Dairy regions have retirees, many who wish to work; however, are not incentivised to do so due to the means test," Mr Gladigau said.
"With many retirees already residing in dairying regions, some of the current accommodation challenges are mitigated with this proposal.
"It would be another proactive step in overcoming this labour hurdle.
"Dairy would welcome the opportunity to work with Seniors Australia and run a trial using our industry as a test case, as we need workers today."
Mr Gladigau said the government's National Agricultural Workforce Strategy and $30 million implementation commitment in the 2021 budget was a good start to addressing the sectoral challenge, but further investment was needed.
"At least $300 million would enable the establishment of a large-scale workforce capability fund to resolve worker shortages and build capabilities needed for the future," he said.
Mr Gladigau also cited progress in the last 18 months as including the review of ANZSCO (the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations) and upgrade of occupations and skills on a dairy farm, as well as updates to the Dairy Industry Labour Agreement which makes it easier for farmers to source staff from overseas.
"We have several members who currently have applications lodged, and with the easing of COVID-19 travel restrictions, it is hoped application processing times are prioritised and this option becomes more viable for an increasing number of dairy farmers," he said.
The Agriculture Visa was another significant step forward according to Mr Gladigau, and while it had been designed and was ready for trial, there had been some difficulties commencing this trial, although Vietnam has now signed up its support.
"Ensuring this visa is working efficiently is a top priority for the dairy sector, as we've specific skills shortages in areas such as AI technicians, which international jobseekers could help address," he said.
Mr Gladigau said despite these wins, ADF would continue to push for further support.
"Our successful launch of the national Pathway for People in Dairy and the Dairy Passport, supported by securing a $715,000 grant from the Victorian government as part of the government's $50 million Agriculture Workforce Plan, demonstrates the value of both our NFF membership, and direct lobbying," he said.
ADF chief executive David Inall said labour shortages were being amplified by increased pressure in the housing market.
Rental prices have surged, and housing prices are growing steadily.
Dairy regions are often sought after for sea or tree-change destinations, meaning housing accessibility is especially constrained for dairy workers.
"To help alleviate these issues, ADF welcomes government investment for building dairy capabilities and increasing housing initiatives for regional areas - especially those that can deliver medium-density options which is the most underserved type of housing for dairy regions," Mr Inall said.
Source: The Land, 19 May 2022
Pay rates for dairy employees just the tip of the iceberg as labour shortage sees milk pool shrink
DAIRY JOBS DESPERATION: Attracting labour is now the number one challenge for the Australian dairy industry, leaders say.
Dairy farmers are so desperate to attract the right people to milk cows and manage farms, they're paying well above award rates and poaching employees from each other but labour is in such short supply, many are simply burning out.
Labour availability is among the top reasons why the milk pool continues to shrink, according to dairy industry leaders like NSW Farmers Dairy Committee president Colin Thompson.
"Farms have closed down because they just cannot get staff to operate the dairy," he said.
United Dairyfarmers of Victoria president Paul Mumford said, "labour is the thing everyone talks about wherever I go," and vice president Mark Billing, who farms near Colac, said farmer confidence had dipped in the face of rising input costs and labour shortages.
"I think until the labour thing is fixed, and I'm not sure how long it's going to take and whether it ever will be, there's a lot of farmers out there as I said before that are pretty tired and don't want to milk more cows."
South-west Victorian farmer and Australian Dairy Farmers director Ben Bennett was even more direct.
"Dairy farmers can't get the labour they need to be able to have enough time off and it's taking a toll," Mr Bennett said.
"A lot of dairy farmers are breaking down physically and emotionally in their 50s - they're not making it to retirement because they just can't do it any more.
"We are naturally drawn towards intensifying the system to make it more productive when we need to simplify so it can be manageable."
While there's no national count of just how many roles need to be filled in the dairy industry, a survey by the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, DairyTAS and the Tasmanian Government about 12 months ago showed there were about 700 vacancies in that state alone.
Australian Dairy Farmers policy and strategy director Craig Hough pointed to the Dairy Australia Power of People of Dairy Survey, which was last published in 2020 before the pandemic.
It found:
47 per cent of farmers had recruited staff in the previous 12 months
70pc said it is difficult to recruit staff
93pc are filling roles within three months
47pc did not use labour agreements to fill roles
Competition for labour had since become fierce, both within the dairy industry and from other industries. Farmers with average-sized herds were paying relief milkers $250 to bring the cows in, milk, clean up and go home, Mr Billing said.
"There's a bit of poaching going on between businesses, it's become such a competitive market," he said.
"We're competing with the Australian Lamb Company and Bulla as far as staff goes, and the casual rates are getting up towards $40 an an hour and you can get $35 an hour just putting a stick into an ice cream."
The award rates are well publicised on Dairy Australia website, The People In Dairy, which shows even the lowest skilled casual farm hand must earn at least $25.41 an hour.
But advisors like Grow Dairy HR's Rachel Finch, Dairy Jobs' Anna Hazewinkel or GDM Agricultural Consulting's Gerard Murphy, all say most farmers are paying well above the minimum.
Mr Murphy, who consults in Gippsland, said all of his clients paid over the award rate.
"I think it's too competitive out there to stick to the award," he said.
Just how much higher than the award, Mr Murphy said, depended on the worker's experience and how well the prospective employer knew them.
It was the same for Ms Hazewinkel, who said her clients routinely paid about 10 per cent above the award rate and sometimes more.
"For instance, I'm actually working with a dairy in Gippsland offering their dairy farm manager anywhere from $80,000 to $120,000, depending on skills and experience," she said.
Of course, it's not all about money, with the standard of staff amenities playing a big role in attracting employees.
"Accommodation is a big drawcard," Ms Finch said.
"There's all sorts of different things farmers can help with, like transport."
One of them is on-farm accommodation.
"Accommodation is quite a big factor because sometimes farms are quite a way away from towns and people need to start early, like 3am, 4 or 5am starts," Ms Hazewinkel said.
But farmers were often hesitant to offer accommodation, Mr Murphy said, even if there was a spare house on the property.
"Supplying housing does make a difference but it's a dual-edged sword that can bring with it some other questions or anxieties," he said.
"Even before you employ someone, you're putting them into a house that you own and it takes a fair bit of trust to go there.
"As we see with house prices in regional areas, even an old farmhouse these days is worth a fair bit of money."
Aside from the pay rates and side benefits like housing or transport, all three consultants said the intangibles like hours, training and the relationship between employee and employer was crucial.
"Even if you're paying above award, that doesn't mean that you can expect someone to work 60 or 70 hours for you," Ms Hazewinkel said.
She said it was important to have a conversation early about average hours and the maximum anyone could be expected to work during peak times like calving.
"Just because you're a dairy farm owner and you do 80 hours a week, you can't expect your employees to do that, too; it's not their farm," she said.
Taking their cue from corporate employers, Ms Hazewinkel said, some dairy farmers even offer employee assistance programs that allow 24/7 access to counselling.
The best employers also had good people skills.
"I've had employees come back to me saying, 'There is no way I can work on a farm where I am sworn out or where the owner swears at other people on the farm," Ms Hazewinkel said.
Murray Dairy communication and engagement officer Melva Tyson said a local farmer who knew his neighbours were paying employees more was nonetheless renowned for retaining good staff.
"He was talking to me about just ensuring that you're dealing with the whole person and, when you're bringing staff on, induct them really well," Ms Tyson said.
"He set the standard very solidly at the very beginning and really ensures the staff feel valued all along, so he was just talking about even a simple 'thank you'.
"He talks highly of his staff and when problems occur, he's more likely to say, 'It's because of me', so perhaps training hasn't gone well, he doesn't send blame elsewhere."
Long road to recovery for dairy farmers after NSW and Queensland floods
Flooding across NSW and Queensland, like other disasters from recent years, have highlighted challenges facing the dairy industry.
Increasing instances of fire, drought and flooding could see insurance premiums rise to untenable levels for some farmers. These risks need to be addressed in a long-term manner, as implications carry on long after acute events.
Dairy farmers across NSW and south-east Queensland face a long road to recovery.
Almost three years of stress from fires, drought, and pandemic-related workforce issues have affected farmers in all industries across Australia.
The recent floods have added to this pressure, placing enormous mental and financial strain on farmers.
At least 290 farms have been affected. Accounts of damage and losses include 200-head herds wiped out, infrastructure and machinery swept away by floodwater, kilometres of fencing ripped from the earth - with winter crops, fertiliser and fodder being collateral damage.
Stories of heroism abound, of farmers working tirelessly to rescue people and livestock.
In the aftermath though, it is keeping herds fed that is proving to be a daily challenge.
There has been a significant toll on animal health, with conditions such as lameness and mastitis becoming prevalent.
Exhausted, distressed and undernourished, cows that would usually produce 20-30 litres daily are giving barely a trickle.
Cold, wet weather has scythed its way through calf populations.
Rescuing heifers and cows sunk deep in mud is a daily event. Costs are likely to be in the range of hundreds of millions.
Many farms are not only experiencing stock feed issues but fuel shortages, power, phone and internet outages.
Farmer welfare and mental health is a huge concern.
After prolonged strain, there is a real risk of farmers leaving the industry.
Now, more than ever, our beloved northern industry needs to know that we 'have its back'.
Various government assistance has been announced, which Australian Dairy Farmers will continue to advocate for.
Our priority is ensuring farmers have the support they need to get back on their feet, as they navigate the long tail of mental hardship, cow health issues and financial strain that has followed these floods.
A hotline has been set up for farmers to request emergency fodder, aerial surveillance and veterinary assistance. Emergency fodder distribution centres have been set up in Casino, Alstonville, Grafton and Coraki. Reimbursement for emergency fodder freight has been made available by the Rural Assistance Authority. Need for Feed, a volunteer service coordinated by Lions International, is also delivering fodder to affected famers.
Any rise in prices for dairy foods on retail shelves at this time may likely be a necessity for ensuring dairy farmers make it through these challenges and stay on their land with their mental health intact.
Moving forward, we recognise that insurance will be a challenge. Not just for those recently affected, but for our entire industry.
Australian Dairy Farmers are working on this issue with representatives from the insurance industry.
At meetings of the National Coordination Mechanism, attended by the Hon Bridget McKenzie, Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience, and the Director General of Emergency Management Australia, Joe Buffone, Australian Dairy Farmers has represented the national dairy industry's interests.
If retail prices for dairy products increase, one of the reasons will be the floods.
If this happens, please tell everyone that the increase is an absolutely necessity to ensure flood-affected farmers survive this disaster.
Source: Heath Cook, ADF Deputy President, The Land, 5 May 2022
Ground is shifting on bobby calves: Dairy Australia’s David Nation
THE ground is shifting on what society will accept from milk producers in terms of where their bobby calves go. Promises are coming from all dairy nations.
Ireland's calf welfare charter guarantees no healthy calf euthanasia; in Denmark there will be no euthanasia by 2022, in the United Kingdom the same from 2023 and in New Zealand the promise is all calves will enter the market from June 2023.
For that reason, a shared future with beef is now a big part of a sustainable dairy business, according to David Nation, the managing director of the sector's big service provider Dairy Australia.
Speaking at the Australian Wagyu Association's annual conference in Melbourne, Mr Nation said the forces at play driving the two livestock sectors together were real.
"We have a challenge with our calf pathways and there is firm commitment by the whole industry, worldwide, to make change," he said.
As many as 60 per cent of future calves on dairies will be dairy beef and it will be expected they have a viable path forward, profitable for every farmer along the supply chain, Mr Nation said.
While it was expected Australia's dairy herd would be entirely bred from sexed semen within the next two years, that wasn't the answer. Surplus calves will still need a viable pathway.
Mr Nation presented a breakdown of where Australia's surplus dairy calves go now which showed 9pc were unviable and a very large portion were slaughtered as calves.
"We have to shrink that 9pc wedge and there is big opportunity in shifting that slaughtered wedge. We are continually working on genetic improvement for calf vitality and survival and improved management on-farm but the key is to grow that dairy-beef sector."
Data shows that bobby calf slaughter goes down as the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator goes up but Mr Nation said that was a 'mirage'.
"When you're making a decision of whether or not to keep a dairy calf based on the current EYCI price, you're out of sync by two years. It's not working so we have to move away from that," he said.
The answer was in relationships and partnerships with beef operations and building long-term, profitable pathways for dairy beef calves year-on-year.
The futures of dairy and Wagyu will only get closer with time, Mr Nation said.
Look over the fence
There's plenty the beef industry can learn from looking over the fence at dairy's 'decade of cow improvement', Mr Nation said.
"We have invested across soils, forages, animals, climate and more but if I had to nail down one part of our production system where the most change has been made it's clearly cow improvement," he said.
"The reality is for quite a long period of time up until 2010 there was investment but the benefits hadn't really taken off. In fact, in 2010, there was a case for saying that's enough investment in genetics. For all the gains made, there were losses too."
However, a plethora of technologies matured in the one decade 'in a way that was unheard of in our hundred years of breeding', Mr Nation said.
Today, a hair sample turned around in four weeks can give a dairy farmer an estimated breeding value with 80pc accuracy.
"We've reached the tipping point where people use these with confidence," Mr Nation said.
The breeding values work has seen world-firsts for Australia too - in heat tolerance and feed saved (net feed index).
Australia was the first dairy country in world to introduce feed saved as a trait for the whole of industry to use and it is now plugged into global networks.
"When a dairy farmer gets a genetic evaluation on feed saved today, that information carries a lot of historic beef information too," Mr Nation said.
Norco price offer not reflecting costs
THIS week's price-increase offer from dairy co-operative Norco to its drinking milk suppliers won't go far enough to stop the exit of producers from the industry, says Gloucester dairyman and vice-chair of lobby group eastAUSmilk.
The Norco announcement of a 5 cents a litre co-operative premium payment for the next two months - coming on top of average base milk prices of around 70c/l - pales in comparison to what is needed in the wake of "unprecedented inflation" for farm inputs, he said.
"This is not a base price payment," he said, pointing out the premium equated to 0.7c/l for a 12 month period. "Norco has not lifted the base price."
Mr Forbes said the dairy community were frustrated by Bega's recent offer of 6c/l for central NSW and a paltry 5c/l for Queensland drinking milk suppliers, considering the component price of southern dairy farmers had soared $150/kg (about 12-14c/l) on the back of better world commodity prices.
There was some expectation from Parmalat suppliers that they might receive a substantial increase in the order of 12-15c/l to meet the rise of doing business but in the wake of Bega's offer that hope has been diminished.
"We have always been told that the Queensland drinking milk price should be based on the Victorian price plus freight," said Mr Forbes. "If we don't go to 15-20c/l more for our milk we will lose farmers in droves."
Farmers are now calling on supermarkets to raise the price of milk to $2/l to guarantee production of local fresh dairy.
Littleproud lays blame for massive new drop in dairy farm numbers
Supermarkets, unions, drought and poor advocacy are all to blame for a massive drop in dairy farm numbers laid bare by last week's levy poll figures, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud says.
The dairy levy poll data showed the number of Australian dairy farms entitled to vote was just 4401, a 13 per cent fall in two years from the 5013 farms in 2019/20.
Mr Littleproud said drought had hit the industry hard and many farmers had taken the opportunity presented by high land prices to leave the industry but he said supermarkets were also responsible.
"I think that supermarkets also played a significant role in that, in basically devaluing the industry," he said, referring to the dollar-a-litre milk war.
"There were big structural changes that need to take place and it doesn't surprise me, but it concerns me deeply," Mr Littleproud said.
While he said dollar-a-litre milk had been "broken, the way forward for the industry required "harmony" and "clear direction".
"I don't think supermarkets, not only on dairy but on a number commodities, are covering themselves in glory and I think that's one of the things that we want to look at, particularly the Nationals, and we'll be bringing our Coalition partners with us on this one, is that there needs to be better reform around how supermarkets deal with perishable goods," Mr Littleproud said.
There would be greater market transparency, he said, that would mean farmers had the same information about production levels and costs as supermarkets, so they could negotiate on a more level playing field.
The Australian Milk Price Initiative, which launched a month ago and was given $500,000 in funding after last election, was an example of a tool designed to increase transparency.
The Minister said the next phase would be to strengthen laws surrounding supermarket negotiations with farmers.
At the moment, he said, the penalties for breaches were just "a cost of doing business" for supermarkets.
"We need to shift to make sure those regulatory guardrails are clear to them but, if they step outside it, there's a penalty and it should be a sizable penalty so they know that, if they breach, it's not just writing out a check for $60-odd thousand dollars, they actually feel it with some financial might," Mr Littleproud said.
On the question of "harmony", Mr Littleproud described Australia's dairy advocacy as "fragmented".
"If you've got fragmented representative bodies, it makes it difficult to know actually what producers really want and that then means that it's difficult for a minister to make a determination," he said.
That fragmentation of dairy advocacy had been obvious, for example, when it came to developing the mandatory code, Mr Littleproud said.
"It was very difficult when you had different forces articulating different things to try and get it all into place," he said.
"Ultimately, what it means is that it either delays any action being taken or action being taken at all."
There had been a great deal of division in the lead up to the dairy levy poll vote, with peak national body Australian Dairy Farmers taking the unprecedented decision to defy its own national council and recommend no increase in the levy.
Mr Littleproud wouldn't be drawn on whether he felt the levy poll was a vote of confidence in Dairy Australia.
"Look, I don't think I want to get into the minutiae of politics of the dairy industry, that's for the members to decide," he said.
"But obviously, in any industry, it's an important principle that levy payers get to determine the percentage, the amount that they put out there and that's a principle but I'll continue to protect regardless of who and what industry body is there."
He would not say whether dairy farmers should have been given the option of a decrease in the levy, or whether the committee that decided on the voting options was truly representative of grass roots farmers.
Instead, Mr Littleproud said there was a mechanism that allowed levy payers to challenge the committee and that angst surrounding producer levies was common across most industries.
He said he had already been approached about having processors pay levies alongside farmers to help fund Dairy Australia, and was happy to explore that possibility if it was supported by industry.
Asked whether he would only act with the backing of peak processor body, the Australian Dairy Products Federation, Mr Littleproud said he needed to investigate further.
"That's the legalities that I'd have to work through but, if in principle that's where industry wants to go, then I'm prepared to explore what legal options I have," he said.
"I'm not afraid to do that if that's where industry thinks that should go, and if they can articulate a reason for that, I'm prepared to explore it."
It's the shortage of labour, however, that has united dairy advocacy groups around Australia.
The Morrison government announced the Ag Visa in September, promising there would be workers on farm by Christmas but only Vietnam has so far agreed to allow its citizens to participate.
Mr Littleproud laid the blame at the feet of the Australian Workers Union.
"We've only been able to get the Vietnam to sign up to the visa as the first country because the AWU demonized farmers and said that they'd exploit their workers so they went to embassies and ambassadors and said to them not to send their citizens because Australian farmers would exploit them," he said.
View Fort home-bred cow takes 2022 International Dairy Week Holstein championship
Taking the International Dairy Week Holstein championship was special for the Templeton family with the cow View Fort Dictator Dottie being a third-generation animal bred on their farm at Tarwin, Vic.
The Templetons - Matt and Nicola and Matt's parents Bruce and Jan - have enjoyed considerable success at IDW over the years.
View Fort Dictator Dottie took all before it at this year's event, claiming the Australian Grand Champion Cow award, as well as the Holstein championship.
In 2020 the Templetons also took the double with an Avonlea Holstein cow.
But this year's win was especially satisfying with the winner View Fort Dictator Dottie the embodiment of their View Fort Holsteins breeding philosophy.
Matt Templeton said being a home-bred cow meant a lot.
His father imported the cow's granddam as an embryo from Canada in 2006.
He had been impressed with embryo's dam Bridgeview Gibson Dottie when he saw it before the Royal Winter Fair.
Bridgeview Gibson Dottie went on to win the long-time production cow class in Canada.
"She's a 96-point cow - and just a cow that exemplifies what we try to breed for still today," Matt said.
"Just overall balanced dairy quality and very good udders, that's the main thing.
"We milk cows every day of the year and udders is how we make money."
Eight-year-old View Fort Dictator Dottie had had five calves and was a no-fuss cow in the herd.
Nicole said Dictator Dottie was a great herd cow, who had two daughters and two granddaughters in the herd already.
"She's a prolific breeder and we think the ideal dairy cow," she said.
Matt said they hadn't yet decided what was next for the cow.
Dictator Dottie calved only in November and was on heat the day before the show.
The Templetons milk a rolling average of 240 cows in their herd in Gippsland.
Matt said after a wet season, it had finally dried out in December and would hopefully roll through to autumn.
"But we don't need another wet winter," he said.
Holstein judge Murray Sowter, Moss Vale, NSW, said it was difficult to go past the aged cow for his champion.
"A cow that just about ticks all the boxes for me, a cow that is beautifully balanced, hard topped, long necked, open of rib and a particularly nice mammary," he said.
"Her correctness of structure, the youthfulness of her udder, the strength of her attachment and her overall style and balance just gets her to the top of the show today."
Red cow takes intermediate champion
The intermediate champion was a red Holstein, Eclipse Altitude J Princess - Red, exhibited by Robsvue Myponga, SA, and Busybrook Holsteins, Oamaru, New Zealand.
The classy junior two-year-old swept all before it in the intermediate class taking the red intermediate championship and best udder, as well as the overall intermediate championship and best udder.
Eclipse Altitude J Princess - Red was also named overall red Holstein champion of the show and reserve interbreed intermediate champion.
None of the owners was able to attend the event with work commitments keeping the SA connection away and COVID restrictions preventing the NZ contingent from attending.
One of the owners Rob Walmsley, Robsvue, Myponga, said the partners had picked up the champion sight unseen at the dispersal sale of master breeder Richard Hull's Eclipse Holsteins at Jancourt East in June.
The heifer was sold due to sexed Mirand-PP for $9000.
"We liked her pedigree and thought she could turn into something but never imagined she'd turn out that good that quick," Mr Walmsley said.
"We are pretty blown away."
Mr Walmsley said despite not being able to attend it had been a real buzz to watch the event's livestream and be a part of the win.
"You always go to IDW with dreams and ambitions and it doesn't always come off but sometimes it does," he said.
He also praised the efforts of Mal Nikora and Kelly Bleijendaal, who prepared the animal for the show.
"We took her across to Gippsland just before Christmas ... and they got her ready," he said.
Mr Walmsley wasn't sure yet what was next for Eclipse Altitude J Princess - Red, which calved in November.
They might carry the young cow through to the Victorian Winter Fair or might look to flush it.
"It would be good to get some embryos back to our partners in New Zealand," he said.
Judge Murray Sowter said he was impressed by the overall correctness of the heifer.
"This junior two-year-old is an outstanding heifer," he said.
"She's a beautifully balanced heifer, an unbelievable correct set of feet and legs, and has the ability to walk around her udder.
"She got such a beautiful top and extension of neck and the height of the rear udder."
Junior championship reward for show specialists
The junior Holstein champion Lightning Ridge Thunderstorm Nico was exhibited by a young couple who show cows as a hobby.
Kelly Bleijendaal and Mal Nikora, Longwarry, Vic, who own the heifer with Busybrook Holsteins, NZ, both work in the dairy industry but are not dairy farming.
Ms Bleijendaal is a calf rearer while Mr Nikora works for genetics company STG Australia.
The pair have been involved in showing for more than 10 years and have taken three strings of animals to IDW as a couple.
The raise their small herd of 15 show animals on the farm on which Ms Bleijendaal works.
Ms Bleijendaal said the championship win was unexpected but was a great reward for the work they put in to preparing their animals.
The picked up the champion calf at the Lightning Ridge Genetics sale in December for $8000, after having previously worked with and being impressed by its dam.
"We liked the family," Ms Bleijendaal said.
"She has six generations of excellent behind her and she's just a pretty fancy heifer herself so we thought she'd have a bright future."
Judge Murray Sowter said the calf "has a wonderful frame and style and width, so hard on top".