Sun setting on another season

The Montrose Dairy farming calender revolves around our herds calving date. Our herd is a seasonal calving herd, which means all the cows calve in one batch over a few weeks. This calving period is timed to match the seasons and when our farm grows grass.  Before each cow calves she has a break from milking so at the moment almost all the herd is on ‘holiday’. For the next few week we will only be milking a few cows, these cows remaining in the milking herd will begin their ‘holiday’ soon and they will calve at the later end of the calving season. Cows that are (on holiday) not currently in lactation or being milked are called ‘Dry Cows’.

With the first of the new season calves soon to arrive we are busy preparing for the start of a new season. Planning for the new season this year has been particularly difficult, with very poor autumn rains.  Like most dryland farmers across southern Australia we are short of grass. The feedwedge on our farm is well below the magic blue line where we want it to be.

Pasture cover on our farm yesterday.

Fortunately we still have some silage on hand and some hay reserves. We have had good rain in the last few days so now we need some sun shine and mild weather to get the grass growing.

When we head out to plant we say “We are off to go tree planting”.  It is not only trees that are planted however.  We plant trees, shrubs & grasses that are local to our area.

Melaleuca ericifolia ready to plant

It is extremely rewarding to watch as the trees grow up and the landscape around us changes.  It is especially satisfying to see our animals rewarded with shade on hot days and shelter on cold & windy days.

Each year we prepare new sites for planting, replace trees & shrubs that have died and manage weeds in our existing treed areas.

A two year old plantation along a creek line

Early ANZAC morning.

This morning I milked the cows as many Australians gathered for dawn services to  remember and reflect. I always find ANZAC morning particularly poignant, in the quiet of predawn (as I collect the cows for milking) the gravity of what happened on this day in 1915 in some ways seems greater.

April the 25th is an occasion of national remembrance, ANZAC Day is a time when we reflect on the many different meanings of war and remember of all Australians & New Zealanders who have served in military operations.

ANZAC Day at Fish Creek

For many farmers the passing of ANZAC day is also a measure of time and the season.  In our region it is often said if we don’t get good rains by ANZAC day we’ll have a challenge getting enough pasture to get through the winter and new pastures planted after today will struggle through the winter.

Newly sow pastures

Some of the pastures we have sown this autumn are booming along considering how dry we have had it and some are really struggling, fingers crossed for a good rain.

March 10, 2013 from The AgeWe always expect a bit of early autumn hot weather, like usual when the weather turns hot my thoughts turn to cow comfort. Keeping our cows cool is a priority, while most of our paddocks have shade, during periods of continual heat it’s important there’s plenty of shade available for the entire herd. We also provide our milkers with a cold shower at the dairy to cool them down.

Ongoing hot weather creates a few other challenges for us. Ryegrass pastures shut down and stop growing when the temperature hits 30°C.  Most of our pastures are hardly growing but they are still looking healthy and strong ready to bounce away when the elusive autumn break arrives.

Spreading sludge

Agitating the effluent sludge

Our cows like the vast majority of dairy cows in Australia live in pasture 365 days of the year. Living in the pastures means most of the cows’ manure goes directly on the pasture, providing nutrients to grow more grass. Twice a day our milking herd is collected for milking and while waiting for their turn in the dairy, some manure is collected in the milking yard.   The manure cleaned from the dairy is collected in a series of effluent ponds. The liquid from these ponds is applied to pasture acting as nutrient rich irrigation water. Once a year the sludge from the first pond is stirred up and pumped out onto paddocks with a ‘Muck Runner’. This black sludge is full of nutrients and great for fertilising the soil.

This black sludge is full of nutrients

If only our pastures were still this green, it was November when our discussion group last visited Montrose Dairy.

Dairy discussion groups have been important for many reasons over many years in the dairy industry.  Sharing ideas, learning new ways, getting moral support or hearing from someone who has gone before are all valuable parts of being in a local discussion group.

I grew up with discussion group legend Jack Green often staying with my family while in the district. He would often arrive bearing gifts, maybe some footy socks from his beloved Bombers for my sister and an article from Hoards Dairyman for me. He was a master at not only inspiring farmers but also building the passion in the next generation of farmers.

We value the sharing and support that discussion groups offer.  They are always a great excuse for a tidy up too!

Milk advertising has been in the media of late. It is great to see some quality milk advertising.

“The diversity of micro-organisms in soils is far larger and more complex than, say, plant and animal populations in the Amazon forests. In fact, a single gram of farming soil will contain more than 10,000 different species of micro-organisms. And that’s only covering different species—there could be multiple thousands of each species, so we’re talking big numbers,”  (Leading microbial ecologist, Dr Damian Bougoure, of Victoria’s Department of Primary Industries)

I was asked to present on Managing soil biology from a farmers perspective. Soil biology is one of many factors which we consider when managing the complex biological system of our dairy farm.

Managing a dairy farm involves considering a diverse range of factors on a daily basis

As part of the forum I was asked to provide some notes in response to three statements which I have included below.

Briefly describe your farming system and in particular nutrient management, or grazing or pasture management and anything you do that has an impact on the soil.

We run a seasonal calving dairy farm where we place a major focus on the production and conversion of perennial pastures to milk. Management decisions on the farm are made based on best available science and best management practice principles. Whole farm nutrient budgeting, taking in to account effluent reuse and on farm nutrient cycling, provides the basis on which our input decisions are made. Soil testing to assist with nutrient budgeting is a key component of soil management. We strive to run a system where we achieve efficient utilisation of all resources.

How does your understanding of biology factor into your decision making?

Our farm consists of brown dermosol soils in undulating country in the foothills of the Hoddle Range. The soil type/classification is quite uniform throughout the area we manage, however management history of our land has a significant impact on our soils.

We farm using a systems approach, soil biology is one component of the farming system. No one component of the system can be managed in isolation, soil and soil biota is a critical part of our system which many management decisions impact on. We recognise the state of the soil biology on our farm is influenced by factors within and outside of our control and as with any other component of our farm we seek to understand and manage for sustainable, healthy and economic outcomes.

Our management regime, like many other dairy farms in Gippsland, ticks many of ‘the boxes’ when it comes to managing soil biology. Our soils are moist for much of the year. We maintain soil cover, our rotational grazing means pastures are grazed down to 1200-1400kg of DM/ha and our average farm cover is maintained around 2000kg DM/ha this means our soils are protected from extremes in temperature and erosion risk is minimised. Highly productive pastures results in large amounts of organic matter cycling in the system. Even efficient pasture utilisation by dairy cows results in around 20% of the grown pastures rotting in the paddock as well as tonnes of rotting roots. Manure direct from the cows and applied though the recycling of our dairy shed waste also contribute to the organic matter added to our soils.

Perennial pastures mean paddocks are rarely cultivated.  It is very rare for a paddock on our farm to be cultivated twice in 10 years.

It seems that there is little known of the impact of agricultural herbicides and pesticides on soil biology.   The way our farm system operates, we rarely require/use any herbicide or pesticide. Other than spot spraying of weeds, only one application of glyphosate prior to the establishment of a new pasture is used on most paddocks.

Lime is applied and incorporated into the soil before any new pasture is established.  The application of lime is a routine practice to ensure our acidic soils remain in the optimum range for our rye grass and white clover pastures.

What are the benefits to you of farming in this way?

The perennial pastures which are rotationally grazed on our farm are supported by productive soils. This allows us to operate a dairy farming system that has a minimal impact on the environment while operating in a volatile world market place.

Any form of agriculture impacts on the environment. Agriculture by its very nature is the removal of products from a farm for human use. We aim to optimise the production of agricultural produce from the land we farm on, efficiently utilising the resources and minimising the impacts.