Alister Murfett replaced an 18-a-side swing-over herringbone with a second hand 40-unit rotary.
Farming has become a lot easier this year for Alister and Renee Murfett.
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A new relocated dairy has halved the time they and their cows spend in the shed and they’re happy with the improved work-life balance after a long period of weighing up the pros and cons of making the big move.
The family were mindful of over-capitalising on their landlocked 144ha property when looking for a new dairy.
Alister admits they probably wouldn’t have made the investment if they hadn’t found a suitable second-hand rotary dairy.
The family moved to the farm at Framlingham about 17 years ago.
“We didn’t have the finances to upgrade everything after buying the land so we made do with what we had,” Alister said.
But the old 18-a-side swing-over herringbone, replaced in mid-2025 by a 40-unit rotary, was at the end of its life.
“The shed was going to fall over; we had to update. We joked that it was only held together by cow manure,” Alister said.
The old dairy will be demolished to create a bigger yard.
They were mindful of over-capitalising on their landlocked 144ha property, which is bolstered by a 56ha out paddock near Mortlake.
“I probably wouldn’t have done it without a second-hand platform, which took a lot out of the price.
“If it was going to cost $2 million, we thought it would over-capitalise the land.
Out with the old and in with the new.
“It doesn’t matter what you have on the land, the land is still only worth this much. We had to ask why build a new dairy if it can’t do any more profit or milk?”
The couple couldn’t increase numbers because there property is landlocked.
“We only did it to make it easier for us and cut our time down, which also benefits the cows because they’re not standing in the yards for so long and they’re back on feed quicker.”
The Murfetts built their new dairy for less than half what a new facility would cost.
They had seen the dairy advertised at Yarroweyah in northern Victoria about three years earlier.
“When we decided we were ready to do it, we contacted them and it was still there,” Alister said. “We took two trucks up and a ute and a tandem trailer.
“It was already dismantled and ready to go.”
Their farm worker was also a welder-fabricator who took measurements and specifics so it could be easily reassembled.
“He drew up the plans while the other truck driver and I had it loaded.
“By lunchtime the second day we had it all loaded and strapped and headed home.”
The whole shed, earthworks and all, took about 12 months to complete. When it was ready, they simply took the end wall out of the old shed and let the cows go straight through.
The old dairy will be demolished to create a bigger yard.
The platform didn’t come with cup removers or retention bars but they have been added along with leg spreaders with teat spray in every bay.
The Easy Dairy herd management system has also been added.
It came out of a 21x21 metre shed but the new shed is 24x24 metres to give the option to go to 50 units if needed.
After years of working in a cramped herringbone, they’re enjoying the freedom of space.
Alister admits the first two months were a bit of a headache.
“We had to get our heads around the new gear and try to get the cows used to it, but as we learnt more it got easier.
“The cows were good after the first one or two milkings. Once they knew where the grain was coming from, the majority were right.”
The big benefit has been the milking time for the 240-strong Holstein-Jersey crossbred herd that is shifting more to Holsteins.
“It used to take me about three hours to milk in peak, that’s six hours a day, and that’s without getting them in and washing out. Now we’ve gone back to one hour 20 minutes.
“Renee and I are getting older and we need to do things easier.”
At full capacity, two people were needed in the herringbone but the rotary is set up as a one-person operation, except for when heifers are being broken in.
There has been an uplift in production for both heifers and cows, particularly the heifers because they’re not sharing the feed trough.
“It’s made a big difference; we’re enjoy farming more now,” Alister said.
The couple moved from Tasmania about 25 years ago, starting on wages and progressing through share farming to ownership.
“We came here on our honeymoon and decided we wanted to move over on a working holiday and we eventually stayed.”
Alister came from a beef-sheep background and Renee was a vet nurse.
“A bloke talked me into dairying in Tassie and he wanted Renee to rear the calves,” Alister said.
“We decided to broaden our horizons and learn more so came over to Victoria where there are more share farms.”
They were drawn to south-west Victoria to visit Alister’s sister at Hawkesdale but the mainland trip took them as far Bundaberg before they returned to their jobs.
“Out of all the areas we had seen, this was the area we picked,” Alister said.
“It’s more like Tassie, but you don’t get the frosts.”
Alister and Renee would consider buying more land or another farm if the opportunity arose.
Two of their three daughters are now working on other dairy farms and keen to pursue careers in the industry, with a third daughter still at school.
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