Matthew Brett, Manager of Tocal College’s dairy in the Hunter Valley region of NSW, talks about margin over feed costs, nitrogen feriliser use, and monthly milk production among other things. Learn about the dairy, its goals, the role it plays in educating the next generation of people who have a passion for and want to work within the dairy industry and be introduced to the Tocal Monthly Business Report.

Tocal College has been training future generations of dairy industry employees every year since 1980 when the NSW Dairy Apprenticeship Scheme was originally introduced. It has developed and grown in an effort to be as representative as possible of a ‘typical’ NSW dairy business. Currently, approximately 2.5 million litres are produced annually from 280 – 300 milkers. The herd is mainly comprised of Holstein Friesians with some Aussie Reds and crossbreds, calving year-round in a pasture-based system.

Matt Brett has been involved in dairying all his life having been raised on a dairy farm in northern NSW, share-farmed and managed large herd dairies before taking on the Dairy Manager role at Tocal 3 years ago. He gives an overview of the dairy, its operating system and resources and explains its key and important role as part of Tocal College, a registered training organisation.

The value in measuring the performance of the business through participation in the NSW Dairy Farm Monitor Project is discussed and we introduce you to the monthly ‘Tocal Dairy Business report’, compiled by the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit in conjunction with the Tocal Dairy Team. The report presents DAILY Margin Over Feed Cost and a summary of some key MONTHLY information using information that is readily available within most dairy businesses.

The ‘Business Report’ is designed to be used as a quick snapshot to assess that the performance of the business is on track – are the farm goals being met and are there any challenges or opportunities that need to be addressed in a timely manner? It is a report that we would encourage other businesses to generate regularly for their own management purposes.

Access a transcript of this episode here

For more info on the Tocal dairy and the business report visit the Tocal dairy’s Monthly Business Report

Take a look at the NSW Dairy Farm Monitor Project and see past performance of the NSW dairy industry.

This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit

It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services

Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via the following email address: [email protected]

Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include;

NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page

DPI Intensive Livestock Twitter feed

NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter

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The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.