The Macalister Demonstration Farm, at Riverslea in Gippsland, runs a herd of 220-260 head of mainly Holstein-Friesian milking cows.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
The Macalister Demonstration Farm, one of Victoria’s research farms located at Riverslea in Gippsland, has undergone a review in the past year.
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That review will be reported on at the AGM on November 19, when attendees will also hear the latest news about regulations enabling virtual herding and fencing in Victoria.
On May 21, Victoria’s Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence announced a trial at Ellinbank’s research SmartFarm had proved the validity of using collars on dairy cows to enable farmers to adopt virtual herding and fencing technology.
A one-year project at the SmartFarm fitted a group of dairy cattle in the commercial herd with collars that enabled animal health and husbandry to be monitored, and identifying the cows’ behaviour when the collars were used to confine and guide them to areas of the farm for grazing.
The Macalister Demonstration Farm partnered with Wellington Shire Council, Federation University, Healthy Farming Systems and Gippsland Agricultural Group this year to study the effects of amelioration practices on flood damaged land.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
The collars use GPS and wireless technology to control livestock without physical fences.
At the Ellinbank SmartFarm, solar-generated power is used to support the commercial dairy farm’s activities.
The Victorian government undertook to develop regulations for using the virtual fencing and herding technology on dairy and cattle farms.
Guest speaker Caitlin Adlam, from Halter, will discuss the potential for using virtual fencing technology on farms in Victoria.
Workshops have been held throughout the year on the Macalister Demonstration Farm.
Photo by
Jeanette Severs
Agriculture Victoria is also contributing to the development of the Australian Animal Welfare Guide for Virtual Fencing, a project led by the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to support a consistent regulatory and animal welfare approach across all Australia’s states and territories.
The AGM will be held at the Newry Hall, in Newry, beginning at 6pm.
The demo farm is a commercial working and research dairy farm and is located in the Macalister Irrigation District in Gippsland, Victoria.
The farm is co-operatively owned by about 200 shareholders, under the governance of an elected board of directors, and has been operating on the Riverslea site since the 1960s.
The farm’s 260-head commercial herd of mainly Holstein-Friesian cows is milked in a 22-a-side swing-over dairy.
A full-time manager is supported by part-time and backpacker staff.
This year has seen considerable staff turnover – with the manager’s role changing three times.
The third manager was appointed in October.
At last year’s AGM, the board reinforced its commitment to operating the dairy farm as a demonstration farm.
The board members contracted a review of the potential of the farm, which will be reported against at this year’s AGM on November 19.
The review has analysed the role of the farm, its potential as a demonstration and research farm as well as its potential as a commercial entity, how it can best serve the community, and what type of operational model would support it.
This year, the Macalister Demonstration Farm partnered with Wellington Shire Council, Federation University, Healthy Farming Systems and Gippsland Agricultural Group to study the effects of amelioration practices on flood damaged land and pastures.
The project will compare rye-grass and mixed species pastures.
A number of workshops relevant to the dairy industry have also been held on the demonstration farm throughout this year – topics included animal health, irrigation, fodder production and pastures.
The AGM on November 19 is open to the public and dairy farmers are encouraged to attend to hear the results of the review into the demonstration farm’s operations and about the next steps to implementing commercial trials of virtual herding and fencing in Victoria.
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