DairyPod

Recorded at the recent Australian Dairy Conference in Tasmania, hear Lachlan Barnes, Murray Dairy’s Lead Regional Extension Officer, talk candidly with farmers Scott Fitzgerald (North VIC region), Jeffrey Gijsbers (Smithton TAS), and George Rigney (Cressy TAS) about their personal stories of starting out in dairy, the barriers they see to farm business growth and individual perspectives and successes taking on opportunities for the long term sustainability of dairy farming.

www.dairyaustralia.com.au 

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Dairy Australia’s industry analysts team, John Droppert and Eliza Redfern, discuss some of the insights from the recently released Situation and Outlook report.

Hear about some of the key drivers of the current domestic market situation as well as the outlook for the industry with increased on-farm and manufacturing costs in the context of global economic developments and what that may mean for milk prices moving into the next season.

You can find the full March 2023 Situation & Outlook report at www.dairyaustralia.com.au/sando

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For those new to genomic testing, or those who have already embraced it as a critical part of their farm business strategy, this DairyPod episode explores the latest developments in genetic data reporting – new herd ranking and index tools - and how these can further help inform animal trait selection decisions, supporting long term herd management and improving farm profitability. 

Hear the discussion as Jane Woolacott, Dairy Australia’s Regional Extension Officer in New South Wales, explores the value of these latest developments in practical terms for farmers today, with Peter Williams, Extension Officer at Datagene. 

To find out more, visit Cow and Heifer Genomics | Dairy Australia or contact your regional office. 

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In this Dairypod episode, Dairy Australia’s Jess Phillips, Senior Community Engagement Advisor, speaks with dairy farmer and industry Ambassadors Lucy Collins from West Victoria and Joe Hammond from Tasmania, about the importance of promoting the dairy industry and the value in sharing their experiences to help maintain community trust.

The conversation shares Lucy and Joey’s personal perspective on what drives the need for marketing of the dairy industry, what value they see in Dairy Australia’s Farmer Ambassador program and their roles as industry ambassadors.

Lucy and Joey talk about their experiences in the program, from some nervous beginnings unsure what is meant to be an industry ambassador to personal growth and confidence in sharing their unique and authentic stories, and encourage others interested in getting involved to take that first step.

If you would like to find out more about Dairy Australia’s Farmer Ambassador program and opportunities to get involved, visit Farmer Ambassadors | Dairy Australia

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In this Dairypod short, Dairy Australia’s Industry Insights and Analysis Manager, John Droppert and Tony Anderson, Dairy Australia’s Agribusiness Manager, discuss the value to farm businesses in understanding the factors impacting milk markets and driving local, farm-gate prices.

The conversation provides an insight into why Dairy Australia’s new Milk Price Workshops were develop, the market information available to all farmers today and how a better understanding of the basics of milk-market dynamics can help farmers maximise profits and manage risk.  

To find out more about Dairy Australia’s Milk Price Workshops and when they are running in your region, visit www.dairyaustralia.com.au/farm-business

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In this episode, Dairy Australia’s Industry Insights and Analysis Manager John Droppert and Industry Analyst, Eliza Redfern, talk candidly about the origins of the annual In Focus report - its value to industry and the challenges in compiling this annual review of the diary sector.

The conversation delves into the various sources of data that informs the report, how the data is then validated and the significance of having transparency of both the immediate year in review along side long term trends for the industry.

A number of report takeaways are also discussed bringing together a snapshot of the prior financial year including the impacts of inflation, the COVID-19 pandemic and global volatility in context of dairy’s performance.

You can read more about InFocus and download the 2022 In Focus report at Australian Dairy Industry In Focus | Dairy Australia

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Hear from Cath Jenkins, working on a series of environmental management case studies with Dairy Australia, discuss how environmental considerations can become part of an effective farm business strategy. 

Speaking with Nigel Pannett, Managing Director at Compass Agribusiness, the discussion focuses on ways to improve the natural assets on dairy farms and Nigel explains how this experience led him to include the environment as a key strategic area for the overall business strategy - alongside finance and people components - and how they are all essential for a successful dairy farming business.  

Nigel also talks about the increased interest in “ESGs” (or Environment, Social and Governance factors) and how Compass Agri, and other dairy farm businesses, successfully incorporate these concepts into every day dairy farming practices. 

Learn more about how Dairy Australia programs supporting farmers and industry to better manage land, water and climate to improve production and profitability at Land, Water & Climate | Dairy Australia

You can find out more about Compass Agribusiness at https://compassagri.com/au/

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On this episode hear from Cath Jenkins, working on a series of environmental management case studies with Dairy Australia, discuss the benefits of on farm practice change with Geoff Rollinson, an industry service provider with Landcare Network working with dairy farmers across south west Victoria.

Talking about some of the great work dairy farmers are doing to improve environmental outcomes and natural asset utilisation, the discussion unearths productivity and financial benefits from making improvements on farm including shelterbelts, soil health, water ways and biodiversity, and provides some suggestions regarding the first steps to take when looking at farm projects and some insight into seeking grants to support on-ground works.

Find out more at
Dairy Australia www.dairyaustralia.com.au/
Landcare Australia https://landcareaustralia.org.au
Find your local Natural Resource Management Organisation at https://nrmregionsaustralia.com.au/nrm-regions-map/

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Nitrogen fertiliser use within our dairy systems has come into sharp focus of late. The rapid price increase in the last 12 to 18 months has left many farmers questioning how profitable nitrogen is.  Add to this the fact the countries such as New Zealand have brought in caps on the amount of nitrogen that can be used annually on farm and farmers here in Australia are rightly concerned about how our dairy systems can still produce high amounts of home grown forage and remain profitable while reducing the amount of nitrogen inputs.

In this DairyPod episode, Dairy Australia’s Project Co-ordinator, Major Innovations, Liz Mann discusses with Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture Research Fellow Adam Langworthy, some of the considerations to make the most of the nitrogen fertiliser that you use now as well as new nitrogen research that is about to commence as part of the DairyHIGH2 research program at the TIA Smartfarm in Elliot Tasmania.

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With close to 60 per cent of all dairy farms in Australia using some form of irrigation on their land, it is important to continually find more ways to use and manage water resources.

In this DairyPod episode, Dairy Australia’s National Soils and Irrigation Lead, Cath Lescun, discusses with Climate Adaptation Lead Cathy Ashby some of the current challenges facing farmers when it comes to effective irrigation.

The conversation also delves into the Smarter Irrigation for Profit (SIP) research project and the resulting outcomes and practical steps - defined as the eight principles for effective irrigation – which were identified as the result of a six-year study across five key industries and supported by Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry through the Rural R&D for profit program.

You can find more information about this project: SIP2 Project Summary 

Access the SIP resources: Soil Moisture Monitoring Resources

If you have suggestions for future podcast episodes, you can get in contact with us by emailing [email protected] 

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