TAKE CARE WITH BRASSICA FEEDING

January 2019

A GIPPSDAIRY PUBLICATION - ISSUE 240

Continued over >>

Forage Brassicas offer a high-quality summer feed source which provide both high water and nitrogen use efficiencies compared to improved pasture grass species generally grown in a dairy grazing system.

Brassicas are a beneficial tool in a renovation program to help minimise weeds for future pasture establishment (as selective herbicides can be used over a straight stand), and also act as a bio-fumigant to the soil due to naturally occurring glucosinolates which are beneficial in reducing the impact of soil borne pathogens which can affect subsequent crops.If planting a summer crop of mixed species, it is desirable to plant species of similar maturity to maximise the quality at grazing whilst minimising animal health implications due to immature plants being grazed too early.

The probability of photosensitivity is of greatest risk when cattle graze immature leafy brassica species which are fast growing, with less than 8 leaves growth.

A greater safety margin as a visual assessment for grazing is indicated by leaf colour; when the plants begin to mature, growth rates slow and the leaf begins to turn purple moving in from the leaf margin.

Photosensitisation in cattle grazing brassicaFast growing leafy brassica species contain high levels of Chlorophyll, a pigment in the plant when broken down in the rumen produces phylloerythrin. Generally, phylloerythrin is excreted from the body in bile by the liver. Excessive levels may enter the circulatory system and when these photo-reactive plant pigments are exposed through non-pigmented skin the UV light causes the skin to react.

By Vicki NinkAgronomistBrowns Fertilisers

Reliable feed for drier hotter conditionsThe blend offers flexibility with very good yield potentials with Pillar & Titan Forage Rapes in cooler conditions & Millet in hotter, dryer conditions. Strong regrowth potential (subject to moisture availability) offers multi-graze options for all grazing systems. The blend also provides a good balance of fibre and protein.

TOP CROP MILLET & RAPE (03) 5659 2314www.notmanpasture.com.au

Reliable feed for drier hotter conditionsThe blend offers flexibility with very good yield potentials with Pillar & Titan Forage Rapes in cooler conditions & Millet in hotter, dryer conditions. Strong regrowth potential (subject to moisture availability) offers multi-graze options for all grazing systems. The blend also provides a good balance of fibre and protein.

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Animals affected show visible reddening and swelling of the skin particularly around the face but also on the udder and areas of the body where there is light or non-pigmented skin. Animals with higher levels of melamine in the skin (darker pigmentation) generally can repel the UV rays and protect themselves against exposure. This is generally diagnosed as primary photosensitisation where permanent liver damage does not occur.In animals with existing liver damage lower levels of phylloerythrin can initiate photosensitisation when liver damage is present the animal cannot excrete the build-up of phylloerythrin and its ability to process the plant toxins is decreased. This is known as secondary photosensitisation.Certain weeds such as; ragwort, smartweed and storksbill exacerbate the issue due to their effect on the liver. The reaction can also be brought on by seasonal conditions which are favourable to facial eczema.

If cattle are affected, they should be removed from the crop and offered protection from direct sunlight. Monitor and treat effected areas on the animal as necessary to prevent or reduce secondary infections.

Key Points• Avoid grazing brassicas too early and be aware of the varieties being sown to allow you to follow grazing recommendations relating to the individual species and their stage of maturity.• The main cumulative factors leading to photosensitivity for ruminants grazing forage brassicas are; the build-up of photo- reactive substances in the circulatory system, exposure to light, and lack of skin pigment of the animal.• Animals are more susceptible if brassicas are grazed when plants are immature and the animal has existing liver damage which can be caused by plant weed species or mycotoxins on the pasture or in the environment.

Lots of people love summer. But did you know that heatwaves have killed more Australians than any other natural hazard? Hard to believe but heatwaves wreak havoc with your body, your brain, machinery, livestock and the garden.

So it’s really important for you to prepare yourself, your loved ones, your animals and the farm. Understanding how your body stays cool makes it easier to prevent and recognise heat stroke, which can sneak up on us. Your body needs to maintain its core temperature of 37° and can lose heat or gain heat from our environment. For example, if it is cold we lose heat and to keep warm we start shivering. Conversely, if the environment is hot, we gain heat and start sweating to try and cool down. Sweating is the main way we lose heat. However, our ability to sweat and regulate our heat can be impaired by humidity, dehydration, excess fat, skin disorders and excessive layers of clothing.Heat loss can be helped by the wind or fanning ourselves. Sweat that drips off or is constrained by clothing is not keeping us cool, as it needs to evaporate to keep us cool. It is possible to sweat up to 15 litres per day which means you are losing a lot of water, and our thirst cannot match all fluids lost by sweating, even if we are drinking fluids often.The rule is - if you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated and that can start to present problems such as decreasing your work or sporting effort, or inability to concentrate and make decisions. Even mild dehydration is associated with increased risk of injury and increased cardiac work with those that have heart conditions particularly at risk.

Signs of dehydration include:• Excessive sweating• Thirst• Decreased urine and/or darkly coloured urine• Headache• Fatigue• Cramping• Dizziness

So take action during hot weather and: • Plan your outside work to the very coolest part of the day - early morning or cooler part of the evening• Drink, even if you are not thirsty • Be prepared for power failures – stock up on non-perishable items and drinkable water• Check that fans and/or air conditioners work • Keep in touch with family, especially those with chronic health conditions and those over 65 years • Work to keep your home cool (shut blinds, open house up in the cool of the night to cool down and shut up early morning) • If you get symptoms of heat related stress seek medical help - it can be a medical emergency

1. NURSE-ON-CALL on 1300 60 60 24 for 24-hour health advice or see your doctor if you are unwell

2. In an emergency, call 000

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Whether you’re new to the dairy industry or have seen it all and are looking to move away from the daily grind, GippsDairy has a course to help you step along the right path.

OMJ consultant John Mulvany will present three courses in the first half of 2019 - Stepping Up, Stepping Back and Taking Steps – which will be of benefit to people at all stages of their dairy careers.Stepping Up will be the first course rolled out this year, with evening sessions to be offered in West and South Gippsland and the MID in March. It’s the first time that Stepping Up workshops have been offered in Gippsland, with John Mulvany urging all young people in the dairy industry to consider registering for the event.“To me, if you are a young person with an interest in the dairy industry, this event will provide you with the basic information to decide whether you want to become an employee or cross the line into being self-employed, leasing, share-farming or farm ownership,” he said.“The people who might want to do this course may already be an employee on a dairy farm, someone outside the dairy industry who wants to get some background on how you might operate in the dairy industry or you might already be working on your family dairy farm.”Part of it is about wealth creation and controlling your finances whichever side of the employment line you are on.”

The three workshops on offer are:

1. Stepping Up – Understanding your options for a career in dairy

2. Stepping Back – Getting a game plan to ease back or transition out of the industry

3. Taking Steps – Share Farming, Leasing and Shared Equity arrangements that can work for people at all stages of their dairy careers.

GippsDairy regional extension officer Leah Maslen said these workshops will help participants gain a clearer understanding of how to move their careers to the next stage.“Having a clear picture of where you want to go with your career is the first step and figuring out how to get there is the next,” Leah said.“With John Mulvany guiding the discussion, these workshops have proven invaluable to past participants, who have walked away with a better understanding of the options available to them.”

There’s all sorts of ways you can get the basics right in dairy farming, but having a solid grasp of your financials is one of the most important.

Farm Business Fundamentals (FBF) is a three day program that provides participants with the skills and knowledge to set up and use good record keeping systems for farm financial and physical information, prepare an annual farm budget and create a balance sheet for their business. The first FBF course of 2019 will be held in Orbost in late January/early February. Another will be held in May, with the location to be decided by where expressions of interest come from.

The FBF course covers:

The basics • Principles, concepts and terminology • Information in your business—how you can use it • Keeping good financial and physical records

Business obligations • Working with your bank • Tax requirements and your legal obligations • People in your business

Getting organised • Getting set up • Using the dairy Standard Chart of Accounts • Going electronic - spreadsheets, software and life in the cloud

Financial data and budgeting • Farm budgets – completing an annual farm cash budget • Tracking cashflow and performance through the year • Preparing a balance sheet

Monitoring and reporting • Farm business performance indicators • Tracking farm business performance over time

Keep up to date with the weather by checking the BOM forecast online and to understand heat stress and access further resources, visit www.farmerhealth.org.au

To book into the Orbost course or express your interest in having a FBF course in your area, contact GippsDairy’s Donna Gibson on 0409 178 624 or donna@gippsdairy.com.au

Take care with brassica feeding>> Continued from page 1

HEAT WAVES......deadlier than ocean waves

Dairy farming by the numbers

A step in the right direction

By the National Centre for Farmer Health

John Mulvany will present the workshops

Exact times and locations haven’t been set for Stepping Back and Taking Steps, but Leah is happy to take enquiries from anyone interested in attending.

To register for the March Stepping Up workshop in your area (dates to be set) contact Leah Maslen on 5624 3900 or leah@gippsdairy.com.au

Dairy farmer Benn Thexton has been implementing changes on his Gormandale and Nambrok farms as he seeks to reduce power bills. He spoke to GippsDairy regional extension officer Ashley Burgess about how he slashed energy costs and what to look for when considering installing solar power systems.

Ben, can you tell us about the energy savings on your irrigation system?

We’ve got two irrigation set ups – one 60 percent flood with the other 40 percent lateral sprays under pressure. We identified we had high power use with the lateral sprays, so we looked at how we could reduce that.

Talking to our electrician, we saw we needed to optimise the power usage from the pump, which was way over size for what we needed, so we were able to lower the power usage out of that by using a variable speed drive.

So how did you go through that process?

We started by identifying that we had a higher than average power bill for that section of irrigation. Then we worked with our electrician and pump specialist to identify that we had an oversized pump and motor. So from there, it was either reduce the size or put this variable speed component in to reduce the draw on the pump.

What consequences did that have for your business?

From when we first turned it on, we’ve been able to drop the power usage from 80 amps to 39 amps draw from the power, which is just over a 50 percent saving. We haven’t seen a power bill yet, but that is a clear indication that we will see significant improvement.

What other initiatives have you taken to reduce your energy costs?

Our Gormandale property has a 20 kilowatt solar system on the dairy to reduce the power usage. We’ve been able to reduce the power bill from $20,000 annually to $8000 through the use of the solar system and also spreading loads from the traditional night rate and pushing it into the day so we can capture the free power generated by the solar.

What advice would you give to people starting to look at solar?

Don’t jump at the first thing that comes at you in terms of quotes. Make sure you have a good relationship with your electrician. The person supplying the quote needs to use your real data, not a perceived power usage curve they have come up with.

Is that data from a smart meter?

Yeah, the smart meter will give you fifteen minute interval power usage for 24 hours. If you ask your power company to supply that data, they will. That can be given to whoever is doing the quote and they can log your actual data use against the estimated solar generation.

This year has seen us with a power bill for the first time in years. The already installed grid connected solar and the 3 phase off grid power system supplying the milking robots has served us well.

This bill was partly the result of rising power costs but mainly due to installing more milking robots and increasing milking herd size. My interest in the Latrobe Valley Microgrid project was sparked by what microgrid power trading could do for us. I was hoping I could sell my excess solar power at better than current market rates and maybe purchase power from this group, when needed, at cheaper rates.I was lucky to be short listed to do a desktop proposal for my farm. I was blown away with their initial proposal which was:

• A 58.8kWh Solar system with a 160kWh energy storage system• Payback within 6.7 years • Reduction of grid power by 85%• Saving in yearly bill of 88%Some of the ancillary benefits not included:

• Any microgrid trading benefits• Being able to tap into the variable feed in tariffs• Supporting the grid at high demand periods for a financial return• Excess solar available that is not being utilized due to distributor grid export limits being applied so more opportunities are possible

Note that I said “ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM” not batteries, so no chemicals. It is fly wheel technology that I thought wasn’t going to be available for another five years.

Having replaced my off grid battery bank last year, I knew what it was likely to cost. With this proposal, it came in below my estimation and, with a design life in excess of 30 years (not 10 year as for batteries), energy storage just became a lot more interesting. Now, this proposal still needs fine tuning as they have to mimic the current grid supply to my farm at the moment. For example they are using STORED solar energy to power those off peak loads such as hot water and water chilling in my case. It makes more sense to shift these loads to when you have excess solar and reduce the energy storage system size. I estimate the payback would drop to about 5 years. Couple this with the Victorian Agriculture Energy Investment plan grant, the payback would be further reduced to under four years. My dairy farming operation could be mainly independent of the grid so reliability, security and quality power supply would be greatly improved together with our bottom line into the future.I would recommend that if you are installing a large solar system that you consider making it hybrid ready and look at adding a small battery system - although that has changed a little bit with the above article.The reason for this, is that most currently installed solar systems are grid connected - that is, no grid, no solar either. There would be nothing worse than having a 60kW system installed that is able to produce 20kW with the sunlight available and you need just 10kW to be able to milk the cows, but because of no grid you can’t. The small battery would keep the whole system running (within limits) in off-grid mode.Lindsay farms with wife Jacinta at Kings Vista Jerseys in Athlone.

It takes a lot of electricity to run a dairy farm. One case study showed a farm with 500 cows, 400 of which were milked twice daily, used 320mWh of energy per year (875kWh per day). At an average cost of 25 cents per kWh, that’s approximately $80,000 per annum .

But farmers have extensive land and large areas of rooftops - perfect for solar panels or micro wind turbines. Installing solar clearly has its benefits – it can reduce the amount of energy you have to buy from the grid, and any excess can be sold back to the grid. But therein lies the problem. Right now, the only place to sell it is back to the grid, and it’s a closed market. There’s no price negotiation. And it always falls in the retailers favour.Imagine if, instead, you could turn a shed roof into a profitable powerplant that can save on your energy bill, then sell unused energy to people in the local area – at a price they’re willing to pay.That’s the idea behind the Latrobe Valley Microgrid, a local energy market. So, just like you might buy fruit and vegetables from the local farmers market, you would buy your local energy from the local energy marketplace.

A detailed feasibility assessment is currently underway, using historical energy consumption data from 86 dairy farmers, residents, commercial and community organisations. When the project goes live participants would have a device attached to your smart meter and we will provide you with a mobile app. All you would need to do is work out what energy you prefer, how much you need when and how much you want to pay. You can then express your preferences by typing them into your app.The marketplace would run on a defined set of rules - like who can be involved and how and when energy can be bought and sold – and it would securely record and share information about your energy use to enable you to benefit from variable pricing throughout the day.The results from the feasibility study will be available in May 2019.

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For more information on energy savings on dairy farms go to www.dairyaustralia.com.au

To stay up-to-date like our Latrobe Valley Microgrid page on Facebook, or sign up for updates on our website: latrobevalley.energy or email info@latrobevalley.energy

Power to the peopleBy Lindsay Anderson

Microgrid has huge potential

Like most mammals, the dairy cow needs to maintain its core body temperature between 38.6°C and 39.3°C. The core temperature changes slightly throughout the day, reaching a peak in the early evening and a low early morning. In hot environmental conditions, cows off-load heat with a range of physiological and behavioural strategies.Metabolic heat is being produced all the time. During the day this heat is not as easily dispersed. If night time conditions are sufficient to allow adequate dispersal of heat the cow will not suffer ill effects. If this diurnal cycle of heat accumulation during the day and loss during the night is disrupted by high night time temperatures the effects become more noticeable.

HOW DO COWS KEEP THEMSELVES COOL?In hot environmental conditions, cows off-load heat with a range of behavioural and physiological strategies like: • Looking for areas with greater air movement or standing to increase or exposure to air• Seeking water and shade• Changing their orientation to the sun• Panting or sweating, or• Stopping or reducing feed intake which decreases rumen heat production.

As heat load builds the cow’s body struggles to cope.Open mouth breathing, group seeking of shade and excessive drooling are all signs of prolonged heat stress and call for urgent attention.Recognise the early signs of excessive heat load and allow for early intervention with effective management and mitigation strategies, such as access to shade and cooling infrastructure, water access and feed pad usage.

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SHORT TERM ACTIONS

1. Set up a sprinkler system at the dairy yard. 2. Install a large water trough on the exit side of the dairy. 3. On hot days, wet the dairy yard for an hour before cows arrive. 4. Delay afternoon milking until 5 pm during the hot season.5. Sprinkle cows for 30 to 60 minutes while standing in the dairy yard waiting for afternoon milking on hot days or when cows breathing rate exceeds 60 breaths per minute or the temperature heat index (THI) is above 78. 6. In hot weather, provide cows with the highest quality pasture available to graze overnight when they are cooler.7. Increase your cows grain / concentrate feeding rate, feed high- quality forage fibre and higher-quality protein sources, and increase cows intakes of potassium, sodium and magnesium.8. In very hot days, if you don’t have a shade shed, bring the milking herd back to the dairy yard around midday and use the sprinkler system to cool cows - if possible give them access to high quality hay or silage.9. Install fans if air movement through the shade shed is inadequate.

LONG TERM ACTIONS

1. Review the whole farm for shade.2. Develop a farm plan that incorporates significant tree plantings over time on the northern and western edges of pastures. Plant deciduous trees along laneways.3. Fence off tree lines to protect tree roots from cow treading and reduce chances of cows lying down in mud and dung.4. Install a shade cloth over the dairy yard to further enhance cow cooling prior to milking.5. Install water troughs in all paddocks and along laneways.6. Combine shade and sprinklers at the dairy yard with a feed out system for high quality forage / partial mixed ration close by. Ensure cows can move freely between both areas during hot weather.7. Build a shade shed with a solid roof set over a feed pad integrated with a PMR feeding system.8. Install a sprinkler system set with temperature controls in the shade shed over the feed pad which is integrated with the effluent management system.9. Assess the impact of withholding insemination during hot weather on herd profitability.

PLANNING & MANAGEMENTWhether you want to make small or big changes, these short and long term changes to farm infrastructure provide options for heat stress management.

Stress in CowsHeat

For any dairy business owner the ultimate aim is to achieve POOP, that is, the position of optimum performance for their particular situation. It’s the “sweet spot” where all the components are balanced and the result is efficient hectares, facilities, people, cows, and feed.

When aiming for POOP it’s worth remembering that there are Yin and Yang sides to the business, as described in the following table.

Table 1: Yin and Yang in a Dairy Business

One side is obviously the operational performance achieved, but it can be forgotten that the level of capital invested in the business is also important.

If the capital investment is too low and too slow it can impact significantly on the “operational” side of the business. For example, a lack of paddock subdivision and good tracks means that grazing management, and hence cheap low cost pasture intake, might be limited, increasing feed costs. Too many cows through an old dairy mean that labour costs (both paid and imputed) increase. Equally, if the capital investment is too rapid and involves too much debt (debt servicing), then operational costs might be low but the risk related to debt is too high, which restricts cash flow. It’s a balance and there are individuals who thrive on debt and others who are far more conservative. Highly profitable farmers achieve the appropriate balance between the Yin and the Yang, which in turn leads to a successful, steady state resilient business (until the next capital opportunity arises, like the farm next door!)When a farm succession process is added to the mix, often involving debt and paying other family members for various components of the business, it means that the operators have to walk a very fine line between equity, debt servicing, capital re-investment from cash flow and additional borrowings, plus operational expenses to optimise profit. Achieving that Yin and Yang balance becomes more complicated.

In the case of Tinamba Focus Farmers, Neil and Keryn Gannon, they have purchased a large proportion of the family farm in stages (some is still leased from Neil’s mother) over the past 10 years. If the Gannon’s operational figures (Yin), for example Cost of Production, were viewed in isolation one could be critical of various cost categories (labour) or operational efficiencies (per cow production). However the “line” has been walked well enough that the farm’s performance (measured as $EBIT/kg milk solids) was halfway between the average and the top 25% of the 75 Dairy Farm Monitor farms accurately surveyed throughout Victoria. In regards to the Yang side of the equation, an inspection of the dairy will show a “tired” 44 year old dairy, and some areas of the irrigation system need updating.For the Gannons it has been important to increase equity after each stage so that the next stage could be achieved. The 2017/2018 Gannon data from DairyBase presented at the recent Focus Farm Field Day indicated an equity level of 73%, which is a strong position. This has been achieved through a determination to reduce debt every year and limit investment in the farm, even though “... it would have been nice...” Equity is an absolute business strength - just ask any of the banks! However, because you can’t see it, like cows in perfect condition or a state of the art rotary, it does not get the recognition it deserves in a volatile industry.So the Gannon business is “not there yet” but now has the potential to reach the POOP position.

Their plans re future capital expenditure (Yang) include:

• A second hand rotary dairy has been purchased and will be re- located in a new shed adjacent to the old dairy. Debt will increase but be limited compared to a new dairy. • There will be continuing improvements to the irrigation delivery system.

This should have a flow-on effect in terms of operational performance (Yin):

• It is hoped that labour costs will decrease per kg MS, especially imputed labour as one of Keryn’s objectives of the Focus Farm is to restore work-life balance. “...I’d like to get things set up so he doesn’t run himself into the ground which is what’s happening now...”• Easier and more efficient irrigation should also reduce labour pressure and improve water efficiency As part of identifying this particular business’s sweet spot there will also be some robust discussions about cow numbers, production per cow and level of supplementary feeding, risk and profit. After five meetings the Support Group now have an idea of the Gannon’s personal and financial objectives, and attitudes to physical and financial risk. They will now work with them to assist in finding their POOP position into the future.

YINOperational Performance $

YANGCapital $

Milk and Livestock Income

Minus Farm Working Expenses (FWE or Farm cash production costs = herd and shed,

purchased/ home grown feed, paid labour, overheads)

Equals Farm Operating Cash Surplus (FOCS)

Minus Non-cash costs (imputed labour, depreciation, inventory adjustments)

Equals Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) True Profit

Land – milking area and support area

Subdivision, water supply and tracks

Facilities – dairy, yards, FP

Plant and Equipment

Cows

PeopleCost of Production equals FWE plus imputed labour plus depreciation plus or minus inventory

adjustments. It is the True Cost of Producing Milk.

The yin and yang of the Gannon businessBy John Mulvany - OMJ Consulting

February management reminders

Pastures• Plan your autumn application of fertiliser in advance and investigate the cost of various options. Include dairy effluent applications in the fertiliser plan and ensure you apply it in a way that keeps it on the farm. • Once the pasture cover on the farm has been reduced to the best residual (4-6cm between the clumps) consider using stand-off paddocks to protect pastures from over grazing• Identify areas of the farm that would benefit from over sowing or renovation, considering spring pasture performance, plan the best approach and timing for success. • Regularly monitor wrapped silage bales for the presence of holes and repair as soon as possibleStock• Cows are vulnerable to heat stress when the temperature is over 25 degrees Celsius or when there is a combination of warm temperatures and high humidity. Heat stress has a number of critical effects on your cows including 1. Reduced feed intake, 2. Reduced milk production and quality and 3. Increased cow health issues. For ideas on ways to manage your herd in hot weather visit the Cool Cows website at www.coolcows.com.au• Be on the lookout for the effects of mycotoxins such as facial eczema (looks similar to photosensitisation), affecting exposed areas of pale skin. If facial eczema is suspected contact a veterinary practitioner for advice on prevention or treatment. Information is available on the Dairy Australia website: www.dairyaustralia.com.au/Animal- management/Animal-health/Facial-Eczema- Monitoring.aspx • Monitor young stock for pink eye and other seasonal issues which will effect animal health and growth ratesProduction and Feeding• Over or underfeeding will result in less profit than possible, however risk needs to be taken in account when making this decision. If you underfeed cows to attempt to make more money it could cost more than you saved• Feed tests on silage and hay are a great way of understanding what you are feeding to cows. You already have the feed and will feed it anyway

but understanding the quality of the feed and its limitations may change your fodder making and feeding decisions in the futureYoung Stock• Poorly fed young stock will impact your business when they calve down and become milking cows with low in calf rates, higher mortality rates and generally are likely to produce less milk• Aim for 70% of young stock in calf after 3 weeks after of joining with heifers due to calve 2 weeks before the cows in the herd. Ensure young stock are well fed and have reached the target joining weights at joining. You can see in the Heifers on Target manual on the dairy Australia web site www.dairyaustralia.com.au/Animal- management/Fertility/Heifer-management.aspx • Monitor the replacement heifers’ growth. They will require high quality supplementary feeds as available pasture is reduced. They need feeds containing a minimum of 10MJ/kg DM and 13% crude protein to grow adequately. When feeding them consider silage, hay and grain as optionsEffluent• Application of effluent to pasture will assist with feed over the early autumn period• It is a good time for irrigators to plan to shandy the dairy effluent or apply it direct to crops or pasture• Consider desludging the first pond, it is a good time to apply nutrients to paddocks prior to renovating or while it is dry enough to get heavy equipment on pastures without causing damage. This effluent is high in nitrogen and potassium and will be good to use on paddocks that were cut for hay or silageBusiness review and budgets • Review your first half year July to December for the following things: - Systems and people (Can you improve the systems and what training or information do the people need to improve?) - Finances and cash flow (How have the spending changes you may have made benefited the business or could changes have benefited the business if they had been made?)

Pastures/ForagesRyegrass leaf appearance rate 12 to 20 days per leaf (depending on soil moisture and temperature)

Area of farm to graze each day 1/30th to 1/60th of the grazing area

Average daily pasture growth rate 6 to 15kgDM/ha depending on soil moisture and temperature in dry land areas and 30kgDM/ha to 50kgDM/ha in irrigated areas

Recommended pre-grazing decisions

If dry land farming consider opportunistic grazing of summer grown pasture that might burn off in bursts of hot weather

Recommended post grazing decision

Paddocks should be clean from any high residual ready for the autumn break, if so pasture is likely to respond well when it rains

Estimated daily evaporation 8 to 10mm per day

Coming up!

8Visit the GippsDairy events calendar for more information www.gippsdairy.com.au

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FARM BUSINESS FUNDAMENTALS (FBF) A three day program that provides participants with the skills and knowledge to set up and use good record keeping systems for farm financial and physical information, prepare an annual farm budget and create a balance sheet for their business.

The first FBF course of 2019 will be held in Orbost in late January/early February. Another will be held in May, with the location to be decided by where expressions of interest come from. To book into the Orbost course or express your interest in having a FBF course in your area, contact GippsDairy’s Donna Gibson on 0409 178 624 or donna@gippsdairy.com.au

NUTRITION FUNDAMENTALS, Advanced Nutrition in Action, Feeding Pastures for Profit and Topfodder Silage Production will be all be offered to Gippsland dairy farmers during 2019. Anyone interested in participating in one of these 2019 courses should contact GippsDairy to reserve a place. Course locations will be decided on the basis of where interested farmers are from. Contact GippsDairy on 5624 3900 or info@gippsdairy.com.au

GIPPSDAIRY TEAM MEMBERS CAN BE CONTACTED ON (03) 5624 3900 OR VIA THE DETAILS BELOW.

ALLAN CAMERONRegional Manager

Ph: 0437 296 955 allan@gippsdairy.com.au

SALLIE CLYNESExecutive Support

Ph: 0437 832 877 sallie@gippsdairy.com.au

KAREN ROMANORegional Extension Officer

Ph: 0417 524 916 karen@gippsdairy.com.au

DONNA GIBSONRegional Extension Officer

Ph: 0409 178 624 donna@gippsdairy.com.au

LEAH MASLENRegional Extension Officer

Ph: 0448 681 373 leah@gippsdairy.com.au

RUAIRI MCDONNELLRegional Extension Officer

Ph: 0477 440 339 ruairi@gippsdairy.com.au

SARAH CORNELLRegional Extension Officer

Ph: 0437 400 316 sarah@gippsdairy.com.au

ASHLEY BURGESSRegional Extension Officer

Ph: 0438 925 278 ashley@gippsdairy.com.au

DANNY BUTTLERCommunications and Engagement Officer Ph: 0409 561 326 danny@gippsdairy.com.au

GENERAL ENQUIRIESinfo@gippsdairy.com.au

(03) 5624 3900