YDN June 2013 Newsletter

I welcome all the young and not-so-young readers to the June YDN Newsletter.

I was a young dairy farmer once a long time ago. Over the years I have seen many changes in the industry, but one thing has remained the same there has always been an abundance of people who see change as negative. Change is inevitable and those who see opportunity in change will succeed.

In spite of the recent hardships farmers have had to face, one of the most positive changes that has occurred in the northern dairy industry recently, is the development of the YDN and I congratulate the organisation and its members in developing a strong and active network that is providing great support and information for the dairy farming industry, especially in the Subtropical region. It is great to see this organisation now spread Australia wide. But don’t stop there - make it a world-wide network.

I firmly believe that the Australian dairy industry has a strong future if farmers and processors remain innovative in how the product is produced, processed and marketed.

If you are ever unsure about the future of dairy products - spend one hour in a large supermarket in any large Chinese city. The range and volume of products that is offered is unbelievable and the rate at which it is bought is also staggering. The claims made about the potential benefits of many of the products is also an eye opener. The milk consumption in China is rising 25%/year and is expected to increase at this rate for at least the next 5 years. Don’t be distracted by the rhetoric of some milk processers in Australia who remain focused on the Australian domestic market only. With current transport technology, Australia and the North is capable of supplying the Asian market.

So my message is be proud of your product and influential and innovative about how your product is produced, processed, marketed and distributed, whether this is on-farm or factory processing. It is your product have some say in what happens to it and be involved in developing a stronger future for the northern dairy industry.

Philip Chamberlain

Subtropical Dairy Board member

Exactly one year on from the DairySage Workshop held in 2012 at Marburg, the group meet up for dinner in Toowoomba at the GPO Bar and Café to see how everyone had gone achieving their goals set at the course.

The dinner was a great chance to catch up with old friends and new ones made during the course, and also to share how each of the mentoring couples had communicated during the 12 month period. Of those attending the dinner, the majority of the mentee/mentor relationships were still going. In some cases, the relationship has proved to be so successful for both parties that it will continue on into the future.

A couple of the mentees have since left the industry however commented that as they now had strong connections with their mentors, that they would look to re-enter the industry at some time into the future if an opportunity arose. Overall DairySage is an incredible program that aims to provide mentoring for our YDN members to achieve career and personal goals. Check out the photos

YDN tour to New Zealand. Saturday 12th October to Thursday 17th October 2013

The YDN tour to New Zealand is now open for registration.

If you would like to go please fill out the registration form and return to Viv or Belinda. Please note that there are limited spots on the tour and your registration form does not guarantee you a spot on the tour.

If you have any questions please contact your tour coordinators:

Viv McCollum
vivienne@dairyinfo.biz
0428 718620

Belinda Haddow 
belinda@dairyinfo.biz
0423 003638

The SCYDN member heard from three great speakers at their Sexed Semen Information Day held recently at Darrin and Jeanette Grevetts’ Farm, Eerwah Vale. The meeting facilities provided by Darrin and Jeanette where ideal for the day and set the scene for some great discussion.

Jim Conroy, General Manager of Semex in Australia and New Zealand kicked the day off with an interesting presentation on the capabilities, limitations and economic considerations of using Sexed Semen.

A presentation by Darrin’s on how he has built his herd since 2011 provided a great opportunity for discussion amongst the group.

Pete Williams, an Extension Officer for the Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Scheme made the trip from Victoria to discuss with the network the new genetic progress report that can be produced for those farmers who are herd recording. This was a worthwhile presentation for those farmers who put time and effort into herd recording and herd improvement.

Special thanks to our Geoff Potts, Dairy Express Herd Recording Service for his support of the day and the very tasty BBQ lunch!

Click more for the pics..........

DAFF introduces ‘Walking the seasons’ Field Days

‘Walking the seasons’ is a new series of field days to be held quarterly at the Gatton Research Dairy, University of Queensland. The days aim to give farmers a regular opportunity to visit the dairy and see what’s happening and to discuss seasonal issues being faced on-farm . The days will offer a tour of the facilities, access to current animal experiments, pasture and cropping demonstrations and trials, the long term composting & fertiliser demonstration with the new compost turner, infrastructure ideas and a chance to ask questions of DAFF and UQ’s technical staff working with the dairy. Holding the field day once a quarter also allows farmers to see the types of management changes and pasture and cropping sequences being implemented each season as well as production figures and current seasonal issues that arise.

The first ‘Walking the seasons’ field day will be held on Tuesday, 18th June from 10:30 till 1pm with a BBQ lunch. The initial day will look specifically at:

• Popped sorghum animal experiment looking at feeding popped sorghum to increase the starch digestibility of sorghum grain & impacts on milk production. 
• Ryegrass, brassica and prairie varieties - winter plantings under new solid set irrigation.
• Long term composting demo with UQ’s new compost turner.

Norco has generously offered to sponsor the day and will host a number of beverage and ice cream samples. If you would like any further information, or to RSVP please contact Jo Gorman on 0402515564 OR johanna.gorman@daff.qld.gov.au  

Primex 2013 is being held in Casino from 20-22 June 2013. The dairy industry will have a covered pavilion for the entire event, with various presentations and workshops being held over the course of the three days.

Complimentary tickets for Primex are available from Neale Price on (07) 3396 6229 or 0400 022 843 or neale@dairyinfo.biz

The Dairy Research Foundation’s annual symposium will be held at Kiama this year, on July 4-5, following the Dairy NSW industry meetings on July 3.

The theme of ‘Taking Control’ will see speakers focus on things dairy farmers can do to manage under the current conditions.

Dr John House from the University of Sydney’s Veterinary faculty and Nowra dairy farmer, Col Thompson, will speak about how to get the most out of transition feeding. Nowra dairy farmer, Con Watts, and consultant Neil Moss will provide tips and practical ways to deal with the 13c/L milk tier 2 milk price. Contact Esther Price Promotions 1800 177 636 or esther@estherprice.com.au  

Nominations are now open for the 2013 Australian Farmer of the Year Awards.

Dairy Australia sponsors the 2013 Dairy Farmer of the Year Award category of the annual Australian Farmer of the Year Awards and invites you to nominate your fellow dairy farmers and/or yourself to enter this prestigious awards program. Nomination forms for the 2013 Dairy Farmer of the Year category is attached, or can be completed online at www.farmeroftheyear.com.au  or you can contact Kondinin Group on events@kondinin.com.au  or 1800 677 761 for more information. Nominations close on July 26.

Darrin and Jeanette commenced dairying on their current leased property at Eerwah Vale (near Eumundi on Qld's Sunshine Coast) in July 2011. Their dairy operation began with the purchase of a 200 head Holstein herd that was already on the farm with the addition of 40 milking jerseys and another 60 jersey maiden heifers .

During 2011/12 they milked 135; 70:30 to the Holsteins, In 2012/13 they are milking 135; 30:70 to the Jerseys. Their passion is for the Jersey cow, so their initial aim is to get to 100% jerseys without sacrificing cow numbers, cow quality, milk production and milk quality. They knew however,  that there would be few surplus funds to be purchasing cattle of the quality they wanted to get to their target numbers.

A varied career spanning farming, vet practice and consulting, our Ten Questions subject this month is SD Board Member Phil Chamberlain.

On April the 7th Amanda and Chris Scheuerle welcomed a beautiful little sister for Riley, 2. Sophie Amanda arrived 3 weeks early and made for some quick phone calls in regards to morning milking. Weighing 6 pound 13 ozs Sophie made it in time for afternoon milking. Both Sophie and Amanda are settling in very well and Riley is busy hanging out with dad.

The annual 2 day coordinator workshop have recently been held and was great to have face to face contact with Neale, Viv, Jackie and Belinda.

This is a great opportunity to come together and plan for the next 12 months. We have all come away excited and eager start planning with our OSC what we are going to do. We have four fantastic projects including Education, Nutribiz, Leadup and Mooving Forward all of which we are very passionate about. We generated a lot of creativity and learnt some new skills and are rearing to go!

The DDYDN would like to congratulate the following members from our region in the Pamalat “excellence in Quality Awards” 2012. In the Top 5% are Travis & Melissa Deans, Brendan and Corrie Hayden (Frances Hayden employee), Ross,Robyn and Peter Garrett and Ivan and Rhonda Crighton(Cara Butler employee). This is an outstanding achievement well done.

On another note, the pic below was taken at Moo Baa Munch. Bernard Fanning from the band Powderfinger turned up for the day. He was lovely and wanted to see dairy cows but unfortunately they had they had left already.. In the picture is Kate Scott from Agforce with Bernard and I!! We are both huge fans.

It’s that time of year again, and hasn’t it crept up on us, the end of financial year. It’s a great time to have a look at where we’ve been over the last 12 months, as well as planning what we’ll be up to for the year.

Our 2013 Leadup group kicked off the new financial year and we were fortunate to have a good representation from our region.

Our regional activities started the year in early October with a visit to the Darling Downs to look at pastures on the Hayden’s farm at Pilton. The weather turned on a freezing cold day for us too. .....Read More

Cheddar cheese was first developed in the town of, yes you guessed it, Cheddar Gorge, England, more than 400 years ago.

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The tradition of making Swiss cheese in 200-pound wheels began in the Middle Ages, when the Swiss government taxed cheese makers on the number of pieces they produced, rather than according to the total weight of the cheese they made.

Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

- Will Rogers, Actor

Our YDN Facebook page keeps you informed in between newsletters!

If your not a member contact us through Facebook or email us directly

Visit the YDN web page for an overview of the network

Young Dairy Network Australia has recently launched its Facebook page. Check it out!

Effective from the first pay period starting on or after 1 July 2013, there will be an increase to the minimum wage of 2.6 per cent. The new national minimum wage will be $622.20 per week or $16.37 per hour. The national minimum wage applies to employees who are not covered by an award or agreement. Most employees are covered by an award.

July 1 also sees an increase in the compulsory super guarantee rate which will rise from 9% to 9.25%, meaning employers will need to increase the rate of the super guarantee payments they make on behalf of their employees to a minimum of 9.25%

For more info about awards and conditions in the dairy industry visit www.thepeopleindairy.org.au .

SUBTROPICAL Dairy has negotiated funding through Dairy Australia’s Tactic for Tight Times project to provide for consultancies for dairy farmers in our region. Free one-on-one sessions with experienced dairy industry personnel are being offered to subtropical dairy farmers as part of Dairy Australia’s ‘Tactics for Tight Times’ campaign.

Primary producers wanting to gain access to the world’s pre-eminent farming network are urged to apply for a 2014 Nuffield Australia Farming Scholarship.

The Scholarship awards primary producers funding to travel overseas and study an agricultural topic of their choice. Successful applicants spend a total of 16 weeks travelling the world including six weeks of group travel through countries such as China, Brazil, USA, Canada and Europe.

Applications open on April 1 and close June 30 and are for travel in 2014.

There will be 25 scholarships offered by Nuffield Australia, sponsored by a range of Australia’s leading primary sector organisations.

For more information visit www.nuffield.com.au or email enquiries@nuffield.com.au  

Darling Downs: Sue Dowling
p: 0400 539 675  
e: sue@dairyinfo.biz

South East Qld: Belinda Haddow
p: 0423 003 638  
e: belinda@dairyinfo.biz

Sunshine Coast: Jackie Kyte
p: 0409 564 729
e: jackie@dairyinfo.biz

Far North Qld: Annalissa Gerahty 
e: ydn@dairyinfo.biz  

NSW Mid North Coast : Traci Gordon
p: 0406 781 553 
e: traci@dairyinfo.biz

NSW Far North Coast: Belinda Haddow
p: 0423 003 638
e: belinda@dairyinfo.biz

Central Qld: Charlie Ernst
p: 0417 006 109
e: ydn@dairyinfo.biz

The Young Dairy Network is a joint initiative of the Subtropical Dairy Programme and the Queensland Dairyfarmers’ Organisation, and is supported by the NSW Farmers Association, Milk Processing Companies and the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.