Author Archives: hoddlecows

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 … Continue reading

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Why we plant trees

We are often asked by visitors and others why we plant trees on our farm.  Shade and shelter for our cows, biodiversity and habitat for native species and creating a great place to live and work are the reasons we … Continue reading

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ANZAC Day

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 … Continue reading

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Record heatwave matched and more to come

Record heatwave matched and more to come 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 … Continue reading

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Time to get our crap sorted

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. … Continue reading

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Comparing Notes

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 … Continue reading

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Straight into summer

There is often a lot of tractor work to be done on our dairy through spring. Silage to be harvested, pasture renovation work, summer crops to sow and all this tractor work is usually wrapped up with the end of … Continue reading

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Milk.

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

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A single gram of farming soil will contain more than 10,000 different species of micro-organisms.

Look after the soil physical and chemical properties and the soil biology will look after itself. That was the key message I took from a recent soil biology forum I attended. “The diversity of micro-organisms in soils is far larger … Continue reading

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Dairy farming, a dogs life

A dogs life on our farm doesn’t look too bad. Jess our 22 month old Border Collie seems to love farm life. She may not be the perfect working dog but I think that has more to do with my … Continue reading

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