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A lot of time, effort and money is spent getting this part of the business right. It is one area of the business that is the most adversely affected by environmental conditions outside of our control (ie. the weather). However, by keeping a close eye on the pastures and ensuring that our feed plans are prepared 6 - 8 months in advance, we have been able to minimise the impact of droughts and extended dry spells on both the production and profitability of the business.
The farm (415ha or 1025ac) is divided into roughly 70 paddocks. The home block (245ha) is what we milk off, and is divided into 40 paddocks which are grazed under rotation. A combination of annual, Italian and perennial rye grasses are used across the farm. A combination of turnips sown with annual pasture provides early, good quality feed for fresh cows. Dryland lucerne was planted in 2008, to maximize summer rainfall growth.
Crushed wheat and barley form the basis of supplementary feeding (fed in the dairy). This is fed in a pelletised form and has additives such as eskalin, molaphos, bi-carbonate soda, causmag, DCP and lime added to maintain herd health and production. Grain fed to each cow is based on production. This means that cows that are high milk producers, are lactating or have had twins are able to be fed at higher rates than the rest of the herd.
Vetch and cereal hay is purchased off farm to assist in filling feed gaps that occur over our summer months. Silage is made on farm and we aim to produce around 9000m3/year. Silage is made in order to utilise the spring flush of grass. Due to the fact we have a large feed pad, silage, hay or other by-products can be fed here if the paddocks become too wet.
In the calf shed, we feed 4 litres whole milk once a day and ad lib water. Calf pellets and hay are introduced from about day 3 or 4. Calves are housed individually for the first few days until they display the capacity to drink effectively from a feeder, and are then transferred to a group pen (of 20) where they continue to be fed as per above until they are moved out to the paddocks. When the calves reach approximately 120kg, they are weaned from milk over a period of about 7 - 10 days, continuing to receive calf pellets as supplementary feed to pasture.
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