VFF members’ push to dismiss board stumbles in court
A legal challenge aimed at forcing the Victorian Farmers Federation to conduct an extraordinary general meeting — a move which could lead to the sacking of the group’s board — stumbled in court on Friday.
Lawyers for former VFF grains group president Andrew Weidemann argued the peak farming body was legally obligated to conduct an EGM under the Corporations Act after more than 100 VFF members requested it through a petition.
Federal Court Justice Jonathan Beach declined to order the VFF to hold the EGM, and has requested more information from both parties before a final hearing to be held next Friday, October 20.
“I am not going to grant you the form of injunction that you are seeking at this stage,” Justice Beach said.
The state farming lobby has been in turmoil since June, when VFF members, led by Mr Weidemann and former VFF grains group presidents Brett Hosking and Ash Fraser, launched a petition calling for the VFF board to be overturned.
Else Kennedy, The Weekly Times, 13 October 2023.
This article requires a subscription to read, please click here for more information.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt calls for clarity over Saputo’s Australian future
Saputo need to be clear about which Australian factories it intends to shut, Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt says.
In a speech to Canadian investors last month, company boss Lino Saputo Jnr announced the processor intended to downsize from 11 to five factories in Australia, but did not stipulate which sites were earmarked for closure.
A spokeswoman for Saputo this week said: “At this time, beyond the previously announced SDA network optimisation activities, no decisions have been made regarding its manufacturing footprint.”
The announcement follows moves by Saputo to sell its Melbourne and Sydney processing sites to Coles supermarket.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is examining the deal and recently push back a decision on whether to green light the transaction.
Alex Sinnott, The Weekly Times, October 12, 2023.
This article requires a subscription to The Weekly Times, for full details click here.
Court appeal: milk meter finding upheld
Milk hauliers using a milk measurement system without permission collected millions of litres of milk during a seven-year period unbeknown to farmers and milk processors, a court has found.
The Federal Appeals Court recently upheld a 2018 decision in favour of milk collection engineering company Flo-gineering against five milk haulage companies — Blu Logistics SA, Wastell Milk Haulage, Wadene, JR Bulk Liquid Transport, and Jurss Robertson — for misleading both processors and producers between 2013 and 2020.
The haulage companies – whose customers included Fonterra, Parmalat Australia Pty Ltd and, at the time, Murray Goulburn – were found to have used an approval number originally given to Flo-gineering, which guarantees the integrity and accuracy of Flo-gineering’s measurement systems for its clients.
In July this year, Blu Logistics and four other hauliers appealed the initial 2018 court ruling, which ordered the hauliers to pay Flo-gineering $465,477 plus agreed interest of $271,498.12.
Tankers visited farms in NSW, Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania. In the initial ruling, the judge found 26 of the hauliers’ tankers collected milk using an approval number allocated to Flo-gineering without approval, with the judge finding the hauliers had “engaged in conduct that was misleading or deceptive”.
It is understood Blu Logistics and the other hauliers employed an independent certified calibrator, who applied the approval numbers to each of the flow meters on the 26 tankers. Court documents show the terms of the approval required the approval number be used only by individuals authorised by Flo-gineering.
Speaking in court in 2018, former Fonterra senior executive Antony Miller said the accuracy of flow meters was important for the dairy industry, being “the basis upon which farmers are paid” and “is part of an integral system for the milk processors to control inbound milk volumes”.
Madeleine Stuchbery, The Weekly Times, September 28, 2023.
To read the full story, click here.
Agricultural powerhouse: China’s homegrown food boom
Thousands of dairy heifers have been raised in China to lift the nation’s milk production to 40 billion litres.
China has become an agricultural powerhouse, as it winds back imports and strives to boost food security for its 1.4 billion residents.
Growth in Chinese milk production has been staggering, surging from 14 billion litres in 2002 to 40 billion litres today – twice New Zealand’s output. Market analysts say that growth in combination with a slowing Chinese economy has played a big part in the 45 per cent slump in global dairy prices over the past 18 months.
Fonterra NZ chief executive Miles Hurrell recently told Kiwi suppliers that “Chinese processors have been left with no choice but to spray dry their surplus milk, leading to high in-market stocks of whole milk powder.”
China’s cutback in dairy imports has led Fonterra to cut Kiwi farmers’ farmgate prices to unsustainable levels and flood the Australian market.
Peter Hunt, The Weekly Times, 22 September 2023.
To read the rest of this article or subscribe, click here
VFF exodus: UDV leaders resign in anger and frustration
United Dairyfarmers of Victoria president Mark Billing and most of his policy council have resigned. Here’s why.
The leadership of the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria has resigned en masse, in frustration at what they say are the ongoing failures of the Victorian Farmers Federation to staff and fund their commodity group.
UDV president Mark Billing and nine of his fellow policy councillors have resigned to form the new lobby group, Dairy Farmers Victoria.
Mr Billing said the group had held off launching DFV for weeks, in the hope the VFF leadership would listen to their pleas for more of the $950,000 in dairy farmer levies to go to dairy advocacy and for greater co-operation on engaging members.
“We gave them ample opportunity to talk, but they wouldn’t sit down with us (policy council),” Mr Billing said.
Peter Hunt, The Weekly Times, 26 September 2023.
To read the rest of this article or subscribe, click here
Coles has ‘reluctantly’ raised the price of its own brand milk
Supermarket giant Coles quietly raised the price of its own brand milk last week by 10 cents a litre, in a blow to households struggling with rising costs of living.
A spokesperson for Coles blamed cost increases in the supply chain for the move, but rival Woolworths said it would be absorbing the recent increase in the wholesale cost of milk, rather than passing it on to customers.
Industry group Dairy Australia said that “Australian farmgate milk prices have remained high” in its September industry outlook report as “wet weather, flooding, labour challenges, competition for resources and farm exits impacted the national milk pool”.
One litre own brand milk now retails for $1.70 at Coles, with two-litres at $3.30 and three-litres bottles selling for $4.80.
Just over a year ago, one litre of home brand milk was selling for $1.35 at Coles.
Michelle Bowes, News.com.au, 20 September 2023.
Read the full story here.
BOM officially declares El Nino
The Bureau of Meteorology has officially declared that major global climate drivers El Nino and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole are under way across the Pacific region.
The climate pattern will increase the chances of a hot and dry summer across most of southern and eastern Australia from October to December.
Meanwhile, amid soaring temperatures and unexpectedly high winds, NSW fire authorities have urged residents to leave the area after upgrading warnings on large sections of the state’s far south coast to “catastrophic” this afternoon.
Jason Gregory, The Weekly Times, 19 September 2023.
To read the rest of this article, click here.
Rural Australia is pockmarked with small dams. Researchers say they could also be 'batteries'
Australia along with the rest of the world, is embarking on the largest energy transition in history as we seek to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and combat the dangerous climate change they are causing.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has identified energy storage as the most pressing need of the next decade in that transition.
Storage capacity needs to be increased around 17-fold by 2050, and AEMO has singled out large-scale pumped hydro as a key strategy in helping to stabilise the grid.
But although micro-pumped-hydro energy storage won't play a role in grid storage, Dr Gilmore said it may still help rural Australians reduce their own emissions while stabilising their own energy supplies.
"There was a survey they did in the US and ... one of the really interesting stats was, if you'd experienced an outage in the last six months, you were four times as likely to get a solar and battery system, as opposed to just a solar system.
"So I think security is a big one. People want to feel like they've got a reliable power supply."
To read more of this article, click here.
Source: Nick Kilvert, ABC Science, 7 Sept 2023.
Australian Dairy Farmers urge ACCC to block Coles/Saputo deal
In Short: The nation’s dairy farmer lobby says the ACCC needs to block Coles from buying two Saputo processing plants.
Australia’s competition watchdog needs to bite back at plans by Coles to acquire Saputo’s milk processing plants, the nation’s dairy farmer leader says.
Australian Dairy Farmers president Rick Gladigau has made an eleventh-hour plea to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to oppose the $105 million deal, with a decision set to be handed down next week.
He says the proposed supermarket takeover of the Sydney and Melbourne bottling plants will reduce competition in the dairy supply chain.
There is more to this story, to read the rest of the article click here.
Source: Alex Sinnott, The Weekly Times, 6 Sept 2023.
For Aussie dairy manufacturers the hits just keep on coming!
Australian dairy manufacturers will always work hard to ensure dairy retains its place in the minds of customers that have come to demand our products, at home and abroad. Despite a difficult operating environment, manufacturers across Australia emphatically demonstrated their commitment to a thriving and trusted industry with record high opening prices for the 2023-2024 season.
However, in a time where food security is paramount, and sourcing locally aligns with the values of our customers and consumers, it’s timely to consider the whole Australian dairy industry landscape and what this means for dairy manufacturers – ‘as the hits just keep on coming’.
Raw milk production is at a record low of around 8 billion litres; input costs continue to climb; import volumes are surging; compliance constraints grow, not the least of which is the Dairy Code of Conduct … and we’re losing our ability to remain cost competitive on the global market.
Australian Dairy Products Federation (ADPF), 23 August 2023.
There is more to this story, to read the rest of the article click here.
Farmers break away from UDV
A group of disaffected Victorian farmers have formed a breakaway representative dairy body .
The group, Dairy Farmers of Victoria, comprises most of the current United Dairyfarmers of Victoria policy council, which is part of the Victorian Farmers Federation.
The new president, Mark Billing — who also remains president of the UDV — said the farmers were unhappy with the lack of resources available to the UDV under the VFF umbrella, and want to establish a model similar to one operating in South Australia, where the dairy farmers have an independent body which still works with the broader farm advocacy group.
There is more to this story, to read the rest of the article click here.
Source: Geoff Adams, Dairy News Australia, Jul 21, 2023.
Facing closure, this dairy farm cut ties with its processor and now makes four times as much
In Short: As neighbouring dairy farms folded around them on Queensland's Scenic Rim, Kay and Dave Tommerup chose between closing or saving their fifth-generation dairy by radically changing how they did business.
They were already running a farm stay in a rustic homestead on their property and selling beef and milk-fed free-range heritage-breed pork to guests, visitors and chefs.
In January 2021, the couple took a leap, reduced their herd to just 22 cows and cut ties with their processor.
Using a century-old cream separator in a purpose-built micro-creamery, they make Jersey Girl cultured butter, cream-topped bottled milk, cream, crème fraiche, yoghurt and ice cream.
Pasture-raised eggs, organised tours and farmgate trails have been added to the agritourism mix.
"It was a huge leap of faith, and it was probably a bit too much for my husband in the beginning," Ms Tommerup said.
"But we haven't looked back … the dairy makes four times more money now than when we were supplying a processor."
There's more to this story, read the full article by following the link here:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-08-21/dairy-farm-survives-by-diversifying-agritourism-directsales/102747100utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web
Source: Jennifer Nichols, ABC Rural, 21 August 2023.
To read more articles on ABC News go to abc.net.au
Murray-Darling Basin plan revived with controversial water buybacks, but won't include Victoria
Federal Water Minister Tanya Plibersek has brokered a deal to re-write Australia's $13 billion Murray-Darling Basin Plan, steamrolling Victorian Labor, and allowing for the widescale resumption of controversial water buybacks and an extension to deadlines for major infrastructure projects.
The new agreement among basin states excludes Victoria, and will require New South Wales to backtrack on its previous opposition to buying back water entitlements in exchange for more time to deliver water-saving projects.
Under the agreement, the federal, NSW, South Australian, Queensland and ACT governments will seek to:
Allow Commonwealth buybacks of irrigation licences to return 450 gigalitres (GL) of water to the environment
Extend the deadline for recovering the 450GL target from June 2024 to December 2027
Grant an 18-month extension to state-run water-saving projects from June 2024 to December 2026
Allow for new water-saving projects to be established and completed by December 2026
"We know that south-east Australia in particular is getting hotter and drier … the next drought is just around the corner," Ms Plibersek said.
"We can't stand by and allow our threatened species, our rivers, our wetlands, and the three million people who rely on this river system for their drinking water to be unprepared for the next dry period."
To read the rest of this article, follow the link here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-22/plibersek-brokers-new-murray-darling-basin-deal/102758998
Source: Kath Sullivan, ABC News, 22 August 2023.
Global Dairy Trade: Global milk price falls through the floor
In short: China’s dramatic dairy diet has caused international trade figures to fall to levels last seen during the milk market’s 2016 meltdown. Overnight, the Global Dairy Index fell for a seventh straight trading session — but this time the plunge was particularly pointed with a 7.4 per cut to the headline figure.
JMI Wealth director Andrew Kelleher said the huge drop in the whole milk powder index was of particular concern for farmgate futures.
“The real issue is: How long prices stay this low?”
To read the article in full you will need a subscription to the newspaper, if you already have a subscription or wish to subscribe go to: The Weekly Times
Source: Alex Sinnott, The Weekly Times, 25 July 2023
Australia’s first ‘virtual fence’ for dairy farms launches in Tasmania, but it’s banned in some states
· In short: New dairy technology allowing farmers to remotely herd cows has become commercially available in Australia after years of waiting — but it is banned in three major states
· What's next? Dr Megan Verdon says more research is needed on the long-term impacts, but feedback suggests it could improve animal welfare
Each morning when Tasmanian farmer Duncan Macdonald wakes up and heads to the milking shed, his herd of dairy cows is already there and waiting.
It's a far cry from waking up at 3am, rounding them up in a paddock in the dark, and herding them for an hour.
His cows have been trained using "virtual fencing" collars — a new tool widely used already in New Zealand, but yet to take hold in Australia.
What is virtual fencing?
Virtual fencing is a system that uses smart collars to herd and monitor cattle.
Each animal is given an electric collar that emits sound and vibration cues to tell them where to go, and then zaps them if they ignore the cue.
Controlled by a smartphone app, it gives dairy farmers the ability to remotely move their cows to the milking shed, set up temporary paddocks and monitor cow health — all without setting a foot outside.
Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture senior researcher Dr Megan Verdon has been studying virtual fencing since 2016.
She said the race to introduce the technology has been ticking since its initial conception in the 1980s, followed by a further boost in the early 2000s when the CSIRO commissioned research and development in the area.
New Zealand tech startup Halter has become the first company in the country to offer it commercially.
It took its first quiet steps into Australia via Tasmania last year, offering subscriptions starting at $8.50 per month, per cow.
"The response in Tasmania … the excitement and interest from the general market has been great," Halter partnerships manager Steve Crowhurst said.
He said the system was already widely used in New Zealand where, in the last year alone, collars were put on about 100,000 cows.
Farmer takes punt on tech
Yolla farmer Duncan Macdonald was one of the first Tasmanian farmers to give the technology a go.
He managed to wrangle collars onto the last of his 1,300 dairy cows earlier this year and has no plans to return to traditional herding.
"I've always been looking into the different options that we've got to make farming more efficient," the farmer and Nuffield Scholar said.
Mr Macdonald said the technology had made his life easier, allowing him to precisely control the areas his cows fed, spot medical issues early on, and, more importantly, spend an extra hour in bed in the morning.
"No-one has to go out to the paddock in the dark, drive around at 3am, and then spend an hour sitting behind cows on the way to the dairy," he said.
"We schedule it the night before. We turn up, and the cows are there and ready to be milked."
Questions over animal welfare
With rival company Gallagher's beef-focused "eShepherd" system also set for commercial release later this year, it may become more common to see cows running around in high-tech gear.
But not in NSW, Victoria, the ACT and South Australia, where the use of electric shock collars are banned under their various animal welfare acts, all of which predate the technology.
In Victoria and South Australia, electronic collars can only be used for the purpose of scientific research. In NSW, the collars cannot be used at all on livestock.
Dairy Australia's principal scientist John Penry said the main issue was that each state had differing opinions regarding the impacts of the "pulse" delivered by the collars.
Asked if Dairy Australia would like to see the technology allowed in all states, he said it was viewed "as broadly sensible to have harmonised legislation between the states."
He pointed out the legislation also covered collars and containment systems intended for cats and dogs, a more primitive technology that has existed for more than 50 years.
Halter's Steve Crowhurst said the solar-powered, GPS-enabled equipment now hitting the Australian market was a "far cry" from the brutal dog collars that triggered bans in multiple Australian states.
"It's not there to hurt the cow, it's actually 100 to 200 times less than a standard electric fence on a farm," he said.
"Sound and vibration are the primary cues that we use. There is a low energy pulse that is used for training, and that's how they associate what the sound cue means at the start."
However, the RSPCA said it was "opposed to the use of electronically activated devices that deliver an electric shock to animals, as these are aversive".
It cited a lack of research regarding long term impacts, and said one of its main concerns was the use of electric shocks producing an "acute stress response in animals".
More research needed
Dr Verdon agreed more research was needed but said the early findings were "promising".
"What this technology does, which is really neat, is it gives an audio cue before it will ever give electrical stimulus," Dr Verdon said.
"Research shows that … usually within about three interactions they've learnt that association.
"So they'll reduce the number of electrical stimuli that they'll receive going forward … this is a good thing."
She said she was looking forward to completing research over the coming years, but added that feedback from commercial users suggested the system could improve animal welfare.
"This includes things like not having someone out there in a paddock chasing animals on a bike or with the dog, because that can be a very scary thing for a cow," Dr Verdon said.
The researcher will continue studying the long-term impacts at the TIA research farm in north-west Tasmania.
Source: Meg Powell, ABC Rural 3 August 2023
To read more articles on ABC News go to abc.net.au
Mandatory dairy code of conduct: Lactalis fined by Federal Court
Lactalis has been ordered by the Federal Court to pay a fine of nearly $1 million for contravening the dairy code of conduct.
The French dairy giant was today slapped with $950,000 in penalties for failing to meet some of its obligations in relation to the 2020-21 milk season.
In September 2022, the Federal Court ruled that Lactalis had breached the dairy code by publishing and entering into agreements that allowed the processor to unilaterally terminate an agreement in circumstances that didn’t involve a material breach by farmers.
To read the article in full you will need a subscription to the newspaper, if you already have a subscription or wish to subscribe go to: The Weekly Times
Source: Alex Sinnott, 25 July 2023
NSW farmers, hay suppliers look interstate stock feed as El Niño looms, pastures still damaged by 2022 floods
Farmers and hay suppliers in northern New South Wales are looking interstate for stock feed as memories of the drought creep in.
Max Wake's dairy in the NSW Hunter Valley flooded last year.
But the property is so dry now he's buying in hay at "astronomical" prices.
"We had to use our winter fodder reserves during summer because the pastures had been destroyed by floods," he said.
"We're not out of forage yet but we've had to buy hay and that hurts."
That hay is coming from South Australia and at a premium, as Australia teeters on the cusp of an El Niño.
"It was a matter of what you could get and where," Mr Wake said.
"I don't need it straight away but I will in August, and if I'd left it any longer I wouldn't have got it."
Mr Wake paid $600 per tonne for the hay alone, with freight and GST extra.
"It's extremely expensive and it makes you wonder if it's worth it … but I can't let my cows go hungry."
No crystal ball
While Mr Wake is replanting and recovering his pastures, 1.5 hours north, Rolanda Clout-Collins has been hand feeding cattle since January.
"Which is worrying as interest rates are going up, commodity prices are going up, but our selling price is going down for our cattle," she said.
In the past 12 months the cattle market's key price indicator has slipped from nearly $10 per kilogram to less than $6.
"It's a rollercoaster," Ms Clout-Collins said.
"During the good years you try to plan, you put strategies in place, you stock up on as much feed as you can — but at the end of the day, unless you've got a crystal ball, it's hard."
Local supplies depleted
With feed sources drying up, McDonald Brothers Transport in Tamworth have been busy moving hay across the Hunter, New England and even the North Coast.
Some loads have also been trucked to the Queensland border.
Scott McDonald owns the company and is also the president of the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association.
He has had to source hay from interstate, with local supplies depleted.
"The actual volume of hay that was made [locally] was low — it was too wet in the Spring and then got too dry in the Summer," Mr McDonald said.
"Most of what we've got here has come from South Australia and Victoria.
"There is a quite a supply of hay down there, the problem is they also had a wet Spring … and so you have to be very careful as to the quality."
Mr McDonald expects there will not be locally grown hay until well into Spring.
El Niño still at alert level
Long-range weather forecaster Don White expects the Bureau of Meteorology will declare an El Niño "in a matter of weeks".
"It's likely to reach its peak in August and spring," he said.
"In past events, El Niños last at reasonable strength for six to nine months — so that could see it last for much of summer."
But he said there were "still glimmers of hope" for farmers.
"The saving grace at the moment is the sea surface temperatures in parts of the Coral Sea, Tasman Sea and Western Pacific haven't cooled down to the extent that we'd normally expect in an El Niño event," Mr White said.
"So if those waters' temperatures stay a little above average, then there's always potential for a bit more moisture to feed into eastern Australia at times.
"But if those temperatures cool off, we're definitely in for about six months of below average rainfall. It doesn't mean every month will be dry but it means that overall, the total rainfall for the next six months will be below average."
Source: Amelia Bernasconi and Lara Webster, ABC Rural
NSW agriculture scientist's research leads to disease-resistant kikuyu grass for commercial export
A last-minute rescue of seedlings from a dumpster has led to the development of a disease-resistant commercial grass variety, set to be exported around the world.
Key points:
Kikuyu grass is prone to fungal diseases and has sensitivity to the herbicide glyphosate
Farmers say the new variety has the potential to be a game-changer for the tropical dairy farming industry
A commercial seed company has purchased the crops plant breeder rights for the variety
For retired agricultural research scientist 78-year-old Bill Fulkerson, who was offered the plants nine years ago, the new variant has been almost a decade in the making.
"Somebody rang up and said they were going to dump 1,600 kikuyu lines down at the tip unless I wanted them," he said.
That kicked off a research program in 2014 trying to invigorate and replace substandard commercial grasses used for tropical agriculture, particularly the dairy industry."
Kikuyu grass was first imported to Australia in 1919 from the Belgian Congo as cuttings and used in tropical agricultural regions.
It is widely used across NSW's Northern Rivers region and parts of south-east Queensland for feeding cattle. But the grass has its own set of problems, including fungal diseases and sensitivity to the widely used herbicide glyphosate.
Dr Fulkerson was motivated to produce a kikuyu variety that was resistant to what's known as 'kikuyu yellow' and also black spot on the leaf, both of which the cattle refuse to eat.
Export opportunities
Commercial seed producer, Nick Eykamp, said his company had purchased the Fulkerson variety's plant breeder rights, which gives the holder exclusive marketing rights for a set period.
"A line with superior benefits than the older kikuyu was worth getting hold of and trying to get the seed produced and out into the market," he said.
Mr Eykamp said the seed had real export opportunities, mainly for Europe.
"Everyone's been planting the same variety for 30 years and something that has disease resistance is a benefit for everyone," he said.
Mr Fulkerson said the Dairy Industry Group helped support the project by planting seeds in the paddock and testing if laboratory results could be replicated in the real world.
"We wouldn't have achieved it without the farmers," he said.
Dairy farmers buoyed by opportunity
Ken Bryant, who milks 250 cows at Bexhill, near Lismore, was involved in the trials.
In autumn, he planted 20 acres of the new variety. "The increase in yield is 24 per cent, which on top of the disease resistance, is such a bonus," he said.
To read the article in full you will need a subscription to the newspaper, if you already have a subscription or wish to subscribe go to: ABC News
Source: Bronwyn Herbert, ABC North Coast, 17 June 2023
Amabel and Martijn Visscher: Data drives profits for young Tongala dairy farmers
Building Numbers
One of their first strategic decisions was to rear young stock in a feedlot system, where they could carefully control nutrition.
“We didn’t buy any young stock with the place. And we have seen numbers dwindling over the past couple of years,” Amabel said. “We haven’t been able to keep up with replacements.
“As young people just starting in the industry, these high cattle prices have been really challenging. We got in with being able to buy the land just in time, before the skyrocket (in land prices).
“(With the feedlot) we can make sure we get them joined really early and they start producing milk as soon as possible, because we are able to guarantee the growth rates we need in this system,” Amabel said.
Calves are fed in three groups: 3-6 months, 6-13 months, and 13-months-plus, with heifers joined at 13-14 months using artificial insemination.
“We only do sexed semen and beef semen,” Amabel said. “All of our beef animals we either sell them privately to people who are going to grow them out or grow them out ourselves.”
Their first heifers are due to calve in October.
“Longevity is the ultimate goal; an animal that you have for a long time is the most profitable animal,” said Amabel, adding that they also choose semen and cull based on production.
Uniquely, the Visschers do AI twice a day at each milking, and use data from their heat-detection collars to finetune the process.
“We have the collars on the cows to get them in calf as soon as possible and not have the manual task of identifying heats,” Martijn said.
Investment in the collars was made possible through a grant. The system monitors rumination and activity to pinpoint the perfect window for joining individual cows, which is important with sexed semen, which has shorter shelf life, narrower breeding window and is nearly double the cost of non-sexed.
“The smart thing about the collars” Amabel said “is that they learn from themselves. It learns what each cow’s normal is and will tell you when there is a change from that cow’s normal.”
An auto-draft gate in the dairy works in conjunction with the collars.
To read the article in full you will need a subscription to the newspaper, if you already have a subscription or wish to subscribe go to: The Weekly Times
Source: Camille Smith, The Weekly Times, 15 June 2023
2023-24 milk battle: Saputo, Bega and Fonterra tied on price
The opening figure from Lactalis is more than $2/kgMS lower than its rival in some northern regions, which farm lobby leaders claim is below the cost of production.
EastAUSmilk president Matt Trace said the “low-ball figure” from Lactalis had sent shockwaves through the NSW and Queensland dairy sector.
He said Norco had provided confidence with their opening prices compared to Lactalis.
“There’s anger in the northern dairy sector like I’ve never seen before,” Mr Trace said. “There’s concern that this low-ball figure has been put out there by Lactalis and that they’re going to engage in special deals with certain suppliers and leave other suppliers out in the cold.
“I know in Victoria, there’s a culture of step ups, so farmers don’t sweat over the opening price like they do up here. But there isn’t the culture of step ups in NSW and Queensland, so the price you’ve got in July is the one you’re stuck with.”
To read the article in full you will need a subscription to the newspaper, if you already have a subscription or wish to subscribe go to: The Weekly Times
Source: Alex Sinnott and Peter Hunt, The Weekly Times, 7 June 2023