It’s ‘one of the best’ for dairy
THERE was more upside than not for dairy farmers this year despite a raft of challenges.
Underpinning the positivity were good milk prices, strong returns for excess cattle and a season that was largely kind to most of eastern Australia.
Balancing the upsides have been labour shortages and a wet spring, which took some of the shine off the positive sentiment within the industry.
Dairy Australia senior industry analyst Sofia Omstedt said 2021 would go down as “one of the best years in recent memory” for many dairy farmers.
Ms Omstedt said a 7 per cent year-on-year lift in milk prices, favourable seasonal conditions in the first half of the year and subdued input costs resulted in one of the most profitable years on dairy farms since 2013-14.
While the wet spring had caused issues with flooding and haymaking, she said it also replenished water storages and dampened irrigation water costs.
Milk prices had been underpinned by a weaker Australian dollar and competition between processors to secure milk.
“Global demand for dairy has remained incredibly resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic and grown in the past three months as more countries emerge from lockdowns,” Ms Omstedt said.
“As Australia’s milk pool remains stagnant and is looking unlikely to grow this year, fierce competition for milk among processors is likely to continue to be a feature of the processing landscape going forward, which is supportive of farmgate milk prices.”
Australian Dairy Farmers president Rick Gladigau, from Mt Torrens in South Australia, said the seasonal challenges in some areas could not be downplayed. “In
NSW and parts of Queensland, they have had fires and have floods, droughts, mice, they’ve had everything,” Mr Gladigau said.
Finding labour was also a major issue — a lack of backpackers and border restrictions through Covid-19 taking a toll.
But good milk prices were a balm to these pains. “Prices are pretty good — of course we’ll always take more — and it’s the third year in a row prices have been up, and next year we are still talking a similar thing,” he said. “In all my time in dairying, the past couple of years have been one of the better continual times we have had in terms of reasonable seasons, pretty good milk prices to go with it.”
Mr Gladigau said input costs for the new year were a concern, especially fertiliser and chemicals.
Farmer optimism about the industry was varied.
Confidence in dairying is there, but it’s not stopping people leaving the industry — older farmers who have gone through the cycles before are seeing great beef prices, people wanting to buy land and cows, and high milk prices, so some are choosing to get out at the top,” he said. “It’s turned out a pretty good year ... if you consider milk price, wishywashy season for some, good cattle prices — it’s been one of the better ones I’ve had.”
Source: Fiona Myers, Weekly Times, 15 December 2021
Concentrate feeder accuracy should be checked regularly on dairy farms
Farmers have been urged to check the accuracy of their feeders at least once a month.
WITH the cost of dairy cow concentrates rising farmers have been urged to check the accuracy of their feeders to ensure they are not overfeeding, or indeed underfeeding, their livestock.
Concentrates form a major cost on all dairy farms and are normally fed via in-dairy and out-of-dairy feeders.
As well as the cost issue, concentrates are fed accordingly to milk yields, therefore the efficiency of the feeder is of the utmost importance.
Farmers invest heavily in these feeding systems as they can be quite expensive, but they can easily be overlooked and irregularly tested for accuracy.
This need for checking feeding systems was highlighted recently as a result of a larger project being conducted by the Northern Ireland based Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) on 31 local dairy farms.
This research was co-funded by Daera, which is the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, and AgriSearch.
It examined the effect of feed-to-yield systems on milk production, milk composition and economic performance.
Examining feeder accuracy
Within the work, feeder accuracy was examined on 16 of the 31 farms, with a total of 490 individual feeders tested, taking into account 16 to 48 feeders tested per farm.
The test involved a pre-programmed quantity of concentrates, normally between 0.5 to 2.0 kilogram depending on the feeder calibration setting, to be dropped from each feeder into a plastic bucket which was then weighed.
The difference between the actual weight of concentrate dropped from the feeder and the target weight that should have been dropped, known as the per cent deviation from target, was then calculated.
The information on the actual weight of concentrate that was dropped was then used to recalibrate the weigh-cell in each feeder using the inbuilt computer software.
Results
The average deviation of all feeders on each of the 16 farms from the target concentrate feeding level is shown in Figure 1.
On average, the feeders on farms 1 to 7 underfed cows (i.e. the feeders dropped less concentrates than they were supposed to), while feeders on farms 8 to 16 overfed cows.
In the extreme cases, on farms 1 and 2, the feeders dropped about 13-14pc less concentrate than programmed, while on farm 16, on average the feeders dropped 15pc more concentrate than programmed.
On most of the remaining farms, the average error across all feeders was plus or minus 5pc, which most producers would consider to be an acceptable level.
However, even on these 'better' farms the average values hide problems with individual feeder variations.
For example, on farm 11 one feeder was overfeeding by 100pc, dropping 2kg instead of 1kg, while on farm 4 one feeder was underfeeding by 70pc, dropping 0.3kg instead of 1kg.
The impact that these inaccuracies can have on the amount of concentrates offered on a farm can be considerable. For example, for a 100-cow herd offered an average of 6.0kg concentrate/cow/day through in-dairy feeders over a 180-day winter period, the total target concentrate usage is 108 tonnes over the winter.
However, based on the feeder inaccuracies observed, farm 1 would actually feed only 93 tonnes of concentrate, while farm 16 would actually feed 125 tonnes of concentrate, representing underfeeding and overfeeding of 15 tonnes and 17 tonnes respectively.
Implications
As on many dairy farms, the use of concentrate feeders in the dairy is more often to get the cow to stand calmly so the farmer can put the clusters on the teats.
Unfortunately, therefore, poorly calibrated feeders are common on many local dairy farms, and as a result, underfeeding or overfeeding of concentrates is likely to be a significant problem, especially given the cost of concentrates and the need to optimise efficiency on farm.
Most concentrate feeding systems can be checked using a simple weigh balance, a plastic bucket and a small investment of time.
As such it is recommended that farmers adopt a feeder calibration check at least once a month. In addition, different types of concentrates have different densities, and feeders should be recalibrated for each new type of concentrate being fed. The feeder supplier or manufacturer should be able to advise farmers on how to calibrate their feeding system, but in general, a simple weigh-scale, plastic bucket and some time is all that is required.
As proven by the AFBI research, this time is likely to be time well spent, especially if the feeders are inaccurate and the operator wants to increase precision feeding into the feeding systems, and increase profit.
Key points
Research looks at accuracy of concentrate figures
Discovers large discrepancies - with both under and over feeding
Farmers urged to check feeders once a month
Source: Chris McCullough, Farmonline National, 6 December 2021
Dairy farmer groups welcome supermarket brand milk price lift
PRICE RISE: Dairy farmers have welcomed a price increase in supermarket-branded milk.
Dairy farmers around Australia have welcomed an increase in home-brand milk prices by major supermarkets but have warned it should be shared with farmers.
Woolworths last week lifted the price of its home-brand milk to $1.30 a litre and was quickly followed by Coles and ALDI.
But there is no indication the price rise will be passed back to processors or farmers.
New Australian Dairy Farmers president Rick Gladigau welcomed the move.
"Despite the end of one-dollar-a-litre milk two years ago, home-brand milk has remained a laggard in the dairy case, so this increase, if shared back through the value chain, will be welcomed by dairy farmers," Mr Gladigau told Stock & Land.
"Increases in milk prices at the farmgate and in-store are needed to sustain production of an essential food."
NSW Farmers dairy committee chairman Colin Thompson, who was one of the farmers hard-hit by recent flooding near Forbes, NSW, said Woolworths's move to increase store brand milk to $1.35 for its one-litre bottles last week was a step in the right direction.
"Dollar-a-litre milk was smashing us, frankly, and even at $1.20 it was tight, but NSW Farmers has been a loud voice in calling for a little fairness in milk pricing," Mr Thompson said.
"This will give us a little more wiggle room as we clean up from these floods, and it's something that I know will be welcomed right across the state."
WA Dairy Council president Ian Noakes said the price rise had been a long time coming.
Mr Noakes said he hoped some of the increase would be passed on to processors, who would then pass it on to farmers.
"This potentially could then push up the price of branded milk, which is good for everyone in the supply chain," he said.
Outgoing QDO president Brian Tessmann said dollar-a-litre milk was well behind the industry now.
"It looks like milk price will start following the general laws of economics responding to supply and demand," he said.
Mr Tessmann praised Woolworths for setting the pace, saying it was not the first time it had led the move away from dollar milk.
In February 2019, Woolworths increased the price of its branded milk to $1.10 a litre and later the same year to $1.20 a litre.
"It is very positive to see the price of milk on the rise, it should flow through the supply chain and lead to a more sustainable industry," Mr Tessmann said.
Newly formed dairy advocacy group eastAUSmilk chair Matt Trace said it was important that a part of the increase was passed down the dairy value chain.
"Supermarket customers have shown a strong willingness to support dairy farmers due to the high nutritional produce that dairy farmers supply to their processor but they need to be assured that when they pay that extra price at the supermarket checkout, the dairy farmer is receiving a fair share of that increased price," he said.
Source: Carlene Dowrie, Farmonline National, 4 December 2021
Gladigau unapologetic but learnt his lesson
The Australian Dairy Farmers president says he has learnt his lesson after commenting on his fellow board members in the press and on social media, but is not apologising.
Rick Gladigau, who has been on the national dairy advocacy board since 2019 and has only just become president, told The Weekly Times that, "If you think you're going to change the world by getting on to the board, (then) you haven't been on a board before.".
The comment was apparently in reference to the two farmers elected to the ADF board a week ago on a change agenda, Ben Bennett and Heath Cook.
Mr Gladigau then took to social media to double down but, after a backlash, took a slightly different approach when asked what he had meant by the comments in an interview on Friday.
"We do have different opinions as directors, but we can work collaboratively to turn things for the better and, across the industry we need to be collaborative, to be able to achieve doables," Mr Gladigau said.
"So, I basically say my public comments over the new ADF board have probably been taken out of context and probably taken the wrong way to what it says, which is the way that it looks and I've learnt my lesson, it's not going to happen again."
Mr Gladigau would not say what the correct context or interpretation would have been, other than to repeat the importance of working collaboratively.
Asked if he meant others were not working as collaboratively as they should, Mr Gladigau said, "I'm not saying that at all.".
He also said he was not trying to walk back the comment, only that it had been misconstrued.
Regarding any need for change, Mr Gladigau said, "I've been around a long time, but there's plenty that we're doing and we do a lot right."
The structure of dairy advocacy was on the agenda, which he said "wasn't going away", although there "won't be instant change".
Mr Gladigau said ADF's new three-year strategic plan dealt with priorities like climate policy, labour challenges and the importance of dairy in the diet.
The advocacy body was also prepared for the upcoming federal election.
Still, he could not say what ADF would lobby for ahead of the election, other than that there needed to be "recognition" of both the dairy industry's efforts on climate and the role of dairy foods in health, as well as action on labour shortages.
"Everyone's looking for skilled labour and a skilled workforce, so it's training people as well," Mr Gladigau said.
"And some people talk to me about how they need housing, that sort of stuff in regional areas. Obviously, the government isn't going to supply housing, but how do we make it all work?"
Mr Gladigau refused to answer his own question or give any details about what "recognition" meant when it came to the role of dairy foods.
After saying it was important dairy was included in the diets of elderly people in aged care facilities, Mr Gladigau would not say how that would be achieved or if it should be mandated by governments.
The form of that dietary recognition and the recognition of dairy's climate initiatives would only become clear when ADF released its policies, he said.
It was, however, only a "possibility" those policies outlined in the strategy document would become public.
What is certain, though, is that Mr Gladigau is opposed to releasing the directors' election results.
He said last year's results were only made public due to difficulties with the online voting process and this year's candidates had not been asked for their permission.
One of those candidates was Victorian dairy farmer and former ADF director, John Versteden, who was unsuccessful in this election.
Mr Versteden said he had not been told how many votes he had secured, despite separately asking the ADF president, chief executive and a director.
"I don't see why you wouldn't release the votes," Mr Versteden said.
"If you put your hat in the public arena, you have to deal with the results, whether they go your way or not."
Mr Versteden said the secrecy surrounding the election outcomes was "disrespectful to the process".
He also called for greater transparency when it came to proxies, which he said allowed two or three people to effectively control half the votes cast.
"Grass roots farmers have been asking for more transparency; let's give it to them," he said.
Source: Marian Macdonald, Farmonline National, 6 December 2021
Australian Dairy Farmers president takes swipe at new board members
Less than a week after the election, the new Australian Dairy Farmers president has sparked a public spat that appears to target two new board members.
It started with a quote in the media by the freshly-appointed president Rick Gladigau and was only exacerbated when he commented on a Farmer Power social media post.
In an article centring on the two farmers, Ben Bennett and Heath Cook, elected to the ADF board on the promise of change, The Weekly Times writer Peter Hunt reported Mr Gladigau saying: "If you think you're going to change the world by getting on to the board, (then) you haven't been on a board before.".
When that was posted to Farmer Power's Facebook page, Mr Cook responded with, "Just wow, challenge accepted.".
Mr Gladigau joined in the discussion on the Farmer Power forum, describing it as "too funny" and doubling down on his media comments.
"Yep, I take ownership of the comment and stand by it, even if it was the only comment in the 3 paragraphs that PH could find space for regarding me," he said.
We need to all remember Rick is new to this role and has his trainer wheels on.- Heath Cook
"Should I not be surprised no one questions a bold headline of Boardroom rebels and there (sic) going to shake up the national dairy industry! (sic).
"I have served on numerous boards and committees both paid and voluntary, I dont (sic) attend thinking I am going to change the world."
Mr Gladigau went on refer to the various responsibilities he had as a director.
"As an ADF President, I expect my board members to remember they are representing our members, that there are governance laws and procedures and they hold the position with the dignity it deserves," he said.
"I believe that while the focus is on 2 new farmer directors who I consider both bring skills to the board as does the new independent, we are grassroots and that as a board we will continue the great advocacy and policy work with our small but dedicated staff.
"Yep, we have work to do, structural reform is only one piece, but hey, at least let these new directors get an understanding of everything that is going on at ADF."
Approached for comment, Mr Cook called for calm.
"I don't think this should be blown out of proportion," he said.
"We need to all remember Rick is new to this role and has his trainer wheels on.
"The board should have a diverse range of opinions, that's what makes a good board great.
"Bring on the discussion."
Farmer Power chief executive Garry Kerr said he was surprised by Mr Gladigau's comments.
"First, I would have thought he'd have better things to do," Mr Kerr said.
"Second, you don't get down and dirty outside the boardroom when president of the ADF, there's no dignity in any of that."
Just 20 hours since it was published, Mr Kerr said the post had been viewed by about 2650 people and the numbers were rising rapidly.
Source: Marian Macdonald, Farmonline National, 2 December 2021
eastAUSmilk merges QDO and NSW Dairy Connect, starts work on December 1, 2021
Merged advocacy body eastAUSmilk began operation in Wednesday, promising a new era of direct representation for NSW and Queensland dairy farmers.
eastAUSmilk chair, former Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation vice-president, Matt Trace said the new industry body aimed to represent dairy producers from southern NSW to the tip of Queensland.
"The significance of eastAUSmilk will be its strength in numbers and a unity of purpose that will be underpinned by the new organisation while bringing into play the best of the QDO and NSW's Dairy Connect Farmers' Group," Mr Trace said
"I am honoured to have been elected as inaugural chair and I look forward to working with the other members of the board and staff of eastAUSmilk to achieve a positive outcome for dairy producers in coming weeks, months and years."
Mr Trace said many issues needed to be addressed.
"We must ensure that when increases in dairy prices occurs, such as that recently announced by the supermarkets for home-brand milk, that a part of that increase will be passed down the dairy value chain to ensure a win-win for all those involved in the dairy process," he said.
"Supermarket customers have shown a strong willingness to support dairy farmers due to the high nutritional produce that dairy farmers supply to their processor but they need to be assured that when they pay that extra price at the supermarket checkout, the dairy farmer is receiving a fair share of that increased price."
Mr Trace said eastAUSmilk's stronger cross-state representation would allow it to advocate more strongly to government, stakeholders and other interest groups about the importance of the dairy industry.
Other directors on the eastAUSmilk board are James Geraghty, Gary Wenzel, Waylon Barron, Ruth Kydd and Graham Forbes.
Mr Forbes, a dairy farmer from Gloucester, NSW, was elected vice-chair.
"I am looking forward to working with Matt and the other members of the board to achieve positive and collaborative outcomes for dairy producers from the six district council regions of eastAUSmilk," Mr Forbes said.
"The opportunities for the new organisation to address the systemic issues that remain within the dairy value chain will be immense as will the challenges that we will confront."
Mr Forbes said the organisation would meet with members and other dairy farmers about the opportunities it would provide.
"The Australian dairy industry is a crossroads and being united and speaking with one voice will ensure long-term sustainability and a viable dairy industry for future generations of dairy farmers," he said.
Work begins for eastAUSmilk
Merged advocacy body eastAUSmilk began operation on Wednesday, promising a new era of direct representation for NSW and Queensland dairy farmers.
I am honoured to have been elected as inaugural chair and I look forward to working with the other members of the board and staff of eastAUSmilk to achieve a positive outcome for dairy producers in coming weeks, months and years.
The new industry body aimed to represent dairy producers from southern NSW to the tip of Queensland.
The significance of eastAUSmilk will be its strength in numbers and a unity of purpose that will be underpinned by the new organisation while bringing into play the best of the QDO and NSW's Dairy Connect Farmers' Group.
There are many issues needing to be addressed.
We must ensure that when increases in dairy prices occurs, such as that recently announced by the supermarkets for home-brand milk, that a part of that increase will be passed down the dairy value chain to ensure a win-win for all those involved in the dairy process.
Supermarket customers have shown a strong willingness to support dairy farmers due to the high nutritional produce that dairy farmers supply to their processor but they need to be assured that when they pay that extra price at the supermarket checkout, the dairy farmer is receiving a fair share of that increased price.
eastAUSmilk's stronger cross-state representation would allow it to advocate more strongly to government, stakeholders and other interest groups about the importance of the dairy industry.
Other directors on the eastAUSmilk board are James Geraghty, Gary Wenzel, Waylon Barron, Ruth Kydd and Graham Forbes.
I am proud to have Graham Forbes, a dairy farmer from Gloucester, NSW, as the vice-chair and I look forward to working with all of the board members.
Matt Trace – eastAUSmilk President
Scientific breakthrough to help dairy farmers reduce methane emissions from effluent ponds
Renowned Lincoln University scientists, Emeritus Professor Keith Cameron and Professor Hong Di, have delivered another breakthrough technology with an immediate benefit for the dairy farming sector to combat global climate change.
Developed in partnership with Ravensdown, the new technology is an effluent treatment system that reduces the methane emissions from farm dairy effluent ponds by up to 99 per cent.
Launched to market by Ravensdown and Lincoln University on November 10 under the brand name EcoPond, the new treatment system also slashes the amount of E. coli in the treated effluent, reduces ammonia emissions, mitigates odour, and cuts phosphate leaching losses from effluent areas into waterways by up to 90pc.
Cutting greenhouse gas methane emissions has been a focal point of the recent COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, with New Zealand joining more than 100 countries pledging to reduce methane emissions by 30pc over the next decade.
The EcoPond system achieves its highly significant reductions in methane emissions by adding a treatment agent iron sulphate, a safe additive used in the treatment of drinking water, to effluent ponds.
Both Professors Keith Cameron and Hong Di hope that the greenhouse gas mitigation delivered by EcoPond will be a gamechanger for dairy farmers.
"Nearly all dairy farms use effluent ponds, which are the second-largest source of on-farm methane emissions, after cow belching," Professor Cameron said.
"Our development and demonstration of the new system, undertaken at the Lincoln University Research Dairy Farm, has proven that the new system is enormously effective at neutralising the methane-producing process, resulting in a 4 to 5pc reduction in an average dairy farm's overall methane emissions.
"This is hugely significant for the industry, as it provides farmers with a new tool in their toolbox to help reduce methane emissions on farm."
EcoPond can be easily retrofitted into a farmer's existing effluent system.
"As far as the farmer is concerned, it's 'plug and play'," Professor Cameron said.
"EcoPond is doing the business while the farmer is busy milking the cows."
Professor Hong Di said they discovered EcoPond's efficacy in reducing greenhouse gas emissions during the development phase of their earlier award-winning ClearTech system.
"In testing the ClearTech system for unintended consequences we found that the gases we collected off the effluent in experimental set-ups indicated a reduction in methane emissions of greater than 90pc" Professor Hong Di said…
"This was a stunning result. In science, it's rare to achieve such a large influence on an experiment.
"So, encouraged by this finding, we tested the system using farm-sized effluent storage tanks and nervously waited to see what would happen.
"The result exceeded our wildest hopes, achieving a methane emission reduction of 99.9pc.
"We're still working on that last 0.1pc. We'll get there!"
Lincoln University Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Bruce McKenzie, said the development of two such significant and innovative agritech solutions that can be quickly and easily applied on-farm demonstrated the value of collaborative partnerships as a means to addressing some of the world's most pressing land-based challenges.
"Lincoln University has a long history of driving innovation in the land-based sector and has a distinctive research profile," Professor McKenzie said.
"Our reason for being is to discover answers to the most pressing land-based challenges, and we do this by collaborating with industry partners, universities, research centres and iwi to help shape a better, more sustainable world.
"Through our partnership with Ravensdown, two of our most acclaimed researchers have been able to develop pivotal on-farm effluent treatment systems that will have immediate and far-reaching benefits by enabling the dairy farming sector to mitigate one of the key greenhouse gases, methane, while also gaining water quality benefits at the same time."
Dairy industry looking much more positive after years of tough times
After a devastating decade in which 8,296 farmers abandoned Australia's dairy industry, the future is finally looking more positive, thanks to better weather and higher milk prices.
Key points:
For the first time in years the dairy outlook is positive
Wade Johnston has started his own dairy farm
His 72-year-old father Stan Johnston has re-entered dairying after 35 years
For the first in years, the prospect of starting a dairy business could stack up.
Wade and Courtney Johnston took the leap, buying their first farm at Bollier in Queensland's Mary Valley. Dairying is in his blood.
"I'd have to agree there's not many of us who are putting their hands up to begin (a dairy), especially from scratch too, so we're awfully proud," Mr Johnston said.
The couple has worked with a tight budget, running a herd of 42 Illawarra milking cows and a single side milking set-up they built themselves in a rustic old barn.
"The banks said 'no' every time I went to them, so we really had to budget hard, Mr Johnston said.
"Courtney did some cementing.
"We just used everything we could that was already here," Mr Johnston said.
"Our plan is just to be slow and steady and not be in heaps and heaps of debt. We just don't want that stress."
Wade and Courtney Johnston's property is on land once resumed for the failed Traveston dam. They feed their growing family from a thriving vegetable patch.
"We're doing our very best to be self-sufficient. We've got the chickens giving us eggs, and we always have the cows milking, and I make yoghurt and cheese," Ms Johnston said.
"I'm an ex-musical theatre performer, so this is very different, but I love helping where I can."
At nearby Kenilworth, Wade's 72-year-old father, Stan, has re-entered the industry after an absence of 35 years on land with more than four kilometres of Mary River frontage.
"I get up at half-past three, have some cornflakes, come down to the new dairy," Mr Johnston said.
"We have cut the farm in half. Half will be horses [Mr Johnston founded Craiglea racing stud and agistment], and half will be dairy."
He has taken on great genetics in Illawarra cows from his 81-year-old sibling, who still regularly comes to help milk.
"My brother Jock, he just loves his cows, so he moved all his herd here; otherwise, he would have had to sell them," Mr Johnston said.
Outgoing Queensland Dairy Farmers Organisation (QDO) president Brian Tessman said anyone looking at a dairy enterprise in Queensland would have to say that right now, it "actually looks reasonable".
"I think the industry is on a bit of an upturn as far as returns to farms are concerned, and certainly in Queensland and New South Wales. I think the returns are certainly better," Mr Tessman said.
After 11 years in the top job, he is proud to have successfully fought for the end of dollar-a-litre milk and the introduction of the mandatory Dairy Code of Conduct which requires processors to publish the price they will pay for fresh milk on the first of July.
"The game is a bit better but there are still people leaving the industry," Mr Tessman said.
"They are basically on a conveyor that was set up to three years ago when things really got just too tough with the drought and higher feed prices, so those people will still be leaving, and they will still probably outnumber the ones coming in."
The QDO and New South Wales-based Dairy Connect advocacy group have merged to form eastAUSmilk, focused on stopping the decline of the fresh milk industry.
Australia has 4,600 licensed dairies, a 9 per cent drop on last year — with 307 in Queensland, a 6 per cent decline on last year.
In recent days, Woolworths, Coles and Aldi lifted the retail price of their homebrand milk to $1.30 a litre.
Mapping farm emissions and opportunity key to net-zero, US consultant Matt Sutton-Vermeulen tells ADIC breakfast
Mapping out the areas of greenhouse gas emission impact and opportunity is the key to achieving net-zero emissions on farm, according to a specialist global sustainability consultant.
US-based Context Network principal Matt Sutton-Vermeulen said there was no backing down from net-zero for the US dairy industry because it had made a commitment to achieving it.
"We could spend more than a couple of hours debating ... about whether there is truly any feasible way of an animal protein or production system achieving net-zero, but the short version is 'by God we said we are going to do it, so we are going to do it'," he told the Australian Dairy Industry Council virtual industry breakfast in November.
Brands were driving the push to sustainability, as they increasingly saw it as part of risk management and how this was viewed by their shareholders.
His company's approach working with dairy farms in the US was to map out the farm's largest sources of emissions and the biggest potential revenue earners.
The four key areas on farms were:
Feed production - 26 per cent of total emissions, 3pc of revenue potential.
Manure management - 33pc of total emissions, 31pc of revenue potential.
Enteric emission - 35pc of total emissions, 6pc of revenue potential.
Energy generation - 6pc of total emissions, 54pc of revenue potential.
"The real opportunity is in energy," Mr Sutton-Vermeulen said, pointing to a farm he visited recently, where half of its revenue came from milk products and the other half from gas production from methane capture.
The challenge was how to measure greenhouse gas emissions on a real farm.
Mr Sutton-Vermeulen's company is developing measurement strategies for farms, which would also help work out which technologies held the most promise.
The key was getting the data from farms.
"Data makes the invisible visible," he said.
People management vital part of sustainability
Mr Sutton-Vermeulen said attracting, developing, and retaining talent was another aspect of sustainability on dairy farms.
"If anything is more complex than greenhouse gas emissions on a dairy farm, then its people," he said.
Corporate culture was critical - it was the key to getting things done.
His company is conducting a pilot with seven dairy farms looking at leadership and behaviour styles.
It is also looking at helping farm businesses understand how people learn and think and how they can adapt their people management to this.
Mr Sutton-Vermeulen there were three types of learners:
Visual - see/observe, show me, images.
Kinetic - do/act, give it to me, feeling.
Auditory - hear/talk, tell me, meaning.
There were three types of thinkers:
Sequential - process, planners, and logical people.
Global - focused on outcome, goals, multitasking.
Integrated thinkers - focused on bringing peace to other two camps
Their initial research on the seven farms revealed that more than 75pc of staff learnt by doing and seeing and more than half thought through process and order.
So, owners who learnt and thought differently to their staff could become frustrated by them, but they needed to take a different approach.
This meant, for example, that for most farm employees, there was no point in telling them how to do something, they needed to learn by doing.
One farm owner in the pilot program had changed their approach from monthly training sessions in the lunch room to hands-on process demonstrations.
Mr Sutton-Vermeulen's company also used a tool to help visualise the culture of the business, breaking it down into three different leadership and behaviour styles:
constructive style;
passive defensive style; and
aggressive defensive style.
They then mapped this to show a farm owner what employees saw as the current style on the farm and what they saw as the ideal style.
"When you bring this stuff to the farm and to the table it is amazing how much some of the employees want to contribute and want to become better," he said
"You can help them do that with your leadership."
Merged dairy body eastAUSmilk hasn’t minced words in its first policy foray
Supermarket operators on the eastern seaboard have been warned that milk-price increases should be passed down the supply chain so dairy farmers get their fair share.
A statement from the newly-formed eastAUSmilk, the brand adopted by the newly merged Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation and NSW’s Dairy Connect, suggests the body will be taking a more prominent role in advocacy moving forward.
EastAUSmilk chair Matt Trace, the former VP of the QDO, said the significance of the body will be its strength in numbers and a unity of purpose.
Among the issues he singled out that the organisation will be pursuing is the fairness of consumer milk pricing.
“We must ensure that when increases in dairy prices occurs, such as that recently announced by the supermarkets for home-brand milk, that a part of that increase will be passed down the dairy value chain to ensure a win-win for all those involved in the dairy process.
“Supermarket customers have shown a strong willingness to support dairy farmers due to the high nutritional produce that dairy farmers supply to their processor but they need to be assured that when they pay that extra price at the supermarket checkout, the dairy farmer is receiving a fair share of that increased price,” said Trace.
“That is why eastAUSmilk, with increased unified membership and stronger cross-state representation, can put forward strong policy advocacy to government, stakeholders and other interest groups about the importance of the dairy industry and its future to the Australian economy in the long-term.”
The merged body has elected a board comprising members of both predecessor state organisations.
Gloucester NSW dairy farmer Graham Forbes was elected vice-chair and will be joined on the board by James Geraghty, Gary Wenzel, Waylon Barron, and Ruth Kydd.
“The Australian dairy industry is a crossroads and being united and speaking with one voice will ensure long-term sustainability and a viable dairy industry for future generations of dairy farmers,” said Forbes.
Boardroom rebels
NSW farmer and NORCO director Heath Cook, who milks a 320-cow herd at Dorrigo, along with South West Victorian self-proclaimed outsider Ben Bennett, were elected to the Australian Dairy Farmer Board last week.
Both men say they want to bring greater transparency to ADF, which has been widely criticised in recent years for initially opposing the introduction of a mandatory dairy code, undermining attempts to establish a benchmarked milk price index and then supporting an Australian Dairy Plan that has hit a dead end.
“It’s a generational change,” Mr Bennett said.
“We’ve made it very clear this (being elected) is about making sure grassroots farmers’ voices are heard.”
Mr Bennett was widely regarded as an outside chance for a seat on the board, but quietly worked away in the back- ground during recent months to recruit new ADF members and the votes he needed to get across the line.
Mr Cook said the biggest issue the industry faced was re-building unity and proving the value of ADF. “There’s a lack of farmer engagement, with 90 per cent seeing us as irrelevant,” he said
Mr Cook’s strength of conviction even led him to resign from the Dairy Levy Poll Advisory Committee, after a majority of its members refused to give farmers the right to vote for a reduction in the $32 million, they pay their national research, development and marketing body each year — Dairy Australia.
Mr Bennett has also argued “farmers should be given choice”, while personally supporting an increase in the DA levy.
Both men have extensive commercial backgrounds.
While Mr Bennett is widely known for his colourful sense of humour in his role as United Dairyfarmers of Victoria Corangamite chairman, he points out that both he and Mr Cook bring plenty of commercial nous to their new ADF roles.
Mr Bennett has graduate and post graduate qualifications from New Zealand’s Massey University, developed meat industry training pro- grams and worked in technical, consultancy and managerial roles in New Zealand, Australian and even an Indian (buffalo) meat works.
Mr Cook brings almost 20 years’ experience as a technician, engineer and mine manager responsible for up to 250 employees and budgets of up to $250m in the Australian gold processing sector to the ADF role, before turning to dairying in 2007.
The ADF’s new chairman Rick Gladigau, who has been on the board since 2019, said: “If you think you’re going to change the world by getting on to the board, (then) you haven’t been on a board before.”
Mr Gladigau is a fifth-generation dairy farmer in the Adelaide Hills, milking about 90 cows. He left school 40 years ago to come back to his parent’s property, before buying his own place in 1993.
As for the future, Mr Gladigau said climate change, labour shortages and how to more effectively manage bobby calves were key issues the ADF needed to pursue.
A controversial resolution by some ADF board members to block NSW rivals from registering to vote at future annual general meetings was lost. The resolution would have amended ADF’s constitution to demand in the future farmers could only register to vote if they joined the recognised state body in which they operated, excluding rivals’ groups from joining the national lobby group.
Milk price on the rise
Dollar a litre milk is well behind us now. It looks like milk price will start following the general laws of economics responding to supply and demand. Last week Woolworths lifted its milk price to $1.30/L on its 2L and 3L bottles.
Coles has since followed suit and lifted their milk price to $1.30/L.
Of course, it is not the first time Woolworths have led the way in raising milk price. Starting with breaking $1/L milk to $1.10/L in February 2019 and later to $1.20/L in the same year.
It is very positive to see the price of milk on the rise, it should flow through the supply chain and lead to a more sustainable industry.
The dairy industry needs to continue to move towards a direction where the whole supply chain makes a moderate margin for it to be viable and worthwhile remaining in the industry. It is necessary for the retail price to rise to allow this to occur.
Australian milk production has been trending downwards in the recent years. This has been due to substantial increases in the cost of production as a result of the drought and more recently fuel and fertiliser prices. It is expected now that as costs increase there can be adjustment to retail prices to allow farmers to be paid a fair price and continue to produce milk.
Improving the margin between the cost of production and farmgate milk price will allow farmers to invest in the future of their business and encourage the next generation to remain in the industry.
QDO thanks Woolworths for its continued leadership in the dairy industry supply chain. This leadership will help create a sustainable industry and a positive future. Dairy farmers would like this trend to continue so that everyone can have a prosperous future.
Brian Tessmann, QDO President
‘eastAUSmilk’ – a new dairy era begins
The industry start-up today of merged advocacy body ‘eastAUSmilk’ is a landmark event for dairy farmers in NSW and Queensland and a new era for direct dairy farmer representation on much of Australia’s eastern seaboard.
Recently elected chair of eastAUSmilk and former vice-president of Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation, Matt Trace, has welcomed this new industry body to represent dairy producers from southern NSW to the tip of Queensland.
"The significance of eastAUSmilk will be its strength in numbers and a unity of purpose that will be underpinned by the new organisation while bringing into play the best of the QDO and NSW’s Dairy Connect Farmers Group,” Matt said
"I am honoured to have been elected as inaugural chair and I look forward to working with the other members of the board and staff of eastAUSmilk to achieve a positive outcome for dairy producers in coming weeks, months and years.
"Many issues remain to be addressed and I look forward to working towards finding the solutions necessary to move the industry forward and to ensure a strong and sustainable dairy future.
"We must ensure that when increases in dairy prices occurs, such as that recently announced by the supermarkets for home-brand milk, that a part of that increase will be passed down the dairy value chain to ensure a win-win for all those involved in the dairy process.
"Supermarket customers have shown a strong willingness to support dairy farmers due to the high nutritional produce that dairy farmers supply to their processor but they need to be assured that when they pay that extra price at the supermarket checkout, the dairy farmer is receiving a fair share of that increased price.
"That is why eastAUSmilk, with an increased unified membership and stronger cross state representation, can put forward strong policy advocacy to government, stakeholders and other interest groups about the importance of the dairy industry and its future to the Australian economy in the long-term.
Matt will be joined on the eastAUSmilk board of directors by James Geraghty, Gary Wenzel, Waylon Barron, Ruth Kydd and Graham Forbes. 2 Graham Forbes, a dairy farmer from Gloucester NSW, was elected vice-chair of eastAUSmilk.
"I am looking forward to working with Matt and the other members of the board to achieve positive and collaborative outcomes for dairy producers from the 6 district council regions of eastAUSmilk,” Graham said.
"The opportunities for the new organisation to address the systemic issues that remain within the dairy value chain will be immense as will the challenges that we will confront.
"Over the coming weeks and months, we will be speaking and meeting with members and other dairy farmers about the opportunities that eastAUSmilk will provide and the way that we can move the industry forward collaboratively.
“Engagement with government, processors and supermarkets will be vital to find the pathway and a mechanism to ensure that we achieve collegiate outcomes which are in the best interests of the dairy industry.
“The Australian dairy industry is a crossroads and being united and speaking with one voice will ensure long-term sustainability and a viable dairy industry for future generations of dairy farmers.
Historical Articles
It all begins with an idea.
Pre-eastAUSmilk articles can be found on these links click here for QCL articles and here for the newsroom.
Dairy Connet’s media page can be found here.