All roads lead back north

The couple had been sharefarming a property and milking 300 cows in Carpendeit in south-west Victoria, but together, decided it was time to reduce their commitment and downsize their operation to a more sustainable size.

“We decided to prioritise our health and cut back our workload after Jo hurt her back,” Rob said.

“We were getting sick of milking all the time, useless labour and running an operation that gave us no time off — ultimately, we hope to milk about 75 cows and calve once a year.

“It is essential we operate a one-person system as I am also planning working off-farm driving trucks and excavators.”

Currently, the couple is milking 108 cows – a mixed herd of Holsteins, cross-breeds and a few Brown Swiss in a 13-a-side swingover.

“I would have a whole herd of Brown Swiss if I could,” Jo laughed.

The dairy had been gutted when the family moved up in January, and Rob has spent the last few months rebuilding it from the ground up.

He has been able to source most of the materials second-hand, excluding the vat and milk pump which they brought with them.

“There is second hand dairy stuff everywhere if you know where to look. I reckon I have spent about $70,000 rebuilding the dairy and we have kept that as simple as possible as well.

“I hope to have the other side up and running pretty soon, and once that happens we will milk the cows in no time.”

Rob said when it came time to purchase a farm, there were a few things they had to take into consideration, including size and cost.

“We didn’t want to take on too much debt and the whole idea was to downsize and do things a bit easier.”

Part of that downsizing besides reducing the milking herd even further is to move calving to once a year so they can take some time away from the shed.

“We also want to be self-sufficient and grow most of our own feed,” Rob said.

“Controlling inputs and costs is the best way forward for us because we certainly can’t control the milk price, but we can control our costs and keeping them low will be the key.”

It had been many years since the Leitchville farm had been a working dairy, so the couple have had to fix channels, re-fence and sow down pastures which has included some millet and sorghum for quick feed, lucerne and other species including sub, plantain, chicory and zoom.

“We are looking at mixed species plantings and regen agriculture. High input costs are pushing farmers into changing the way they do things.

“We stopped using phosphorus fertiliser, and it was interesting to see the improvement we experienced in foot health.

“Actually, I am expecting the overall health of our herd to improve with the move up here.

“For six months of the year it's cloudy and overcast at Carpendeit, which is no good for anyone, the climate is much better in northern Victoria.”

For herd health, Rob uses the Cow Manager program by World Wide Sires which he finds cost effective and affordable.

This system measures ear temperature combined with behaviour to accurately measure herd health, fertility and nutrition.

“The good thing about this program is you only pay for what we use, which for us is fertility and health.

“You can turn things on and off as needed, and you just attach the sensor to the NLIS ear tag.”

The couple uses conventional semen as Rob breeds his cows for longevity and prioritises in calf rates.

“I have a few old girls in the herd, and we don’t need too many replacements at the moment, but that might be different when we start calving once a year,” Rob said.

Growing up on a dairy farm has led Rob down many roads and to many places and different experiences, which even included a stint on the UDV policy council.

“The dairy industry needs a state membership organisation as part of the structure of ADF [Australian Dairy Farmers],” he said.

“We need ADF because there is a lot of industry pressure from overseas and domestic red tape and someone also needs to monitor Dairy Australia — it is essential we have the right people in these roles to be effective, though.”

Looking to the future of his own operation, Rob is hoping to lease some additional land down the track to improve self-sufficiency and grow more fodder.

“It’s good to be back in northern Victoria and I am looking forward to seeing what we can grow our business into,” he said.