As Australian dairy farms have expanded and herd sizes grown, the demand for skilled labour has increased —but finding local workers can be challenging. In this episode, we explore how employing overseas staff through various visa options and the Dairy Industry Labour Agreement can help fill the gap. Migration agent Fadi Malek, who is Director of Global Skilled Employment Services and NSW dairy farmer Andrew Farr join us to unpack the process of registering, recruiting, and employing internation...
Jul 03, 2025•43 min•Ep. 50
Producing milk with less lactose – why might this be important? Our guest this month is Juan Garguilo, one of my NSW DPIRD colleagues. Juan has been involved in a number of research projects as part of the NSW Dairy Up R& D initiative and if you are a long-term listener of this podcast, you will have heard his Argentinian accent before! Juan, in conjunction with other well known dairy researchers, Professor Yani Garcia (University of Sydney) and Russ Hovey (University of California – Davis) ...
Jun 03, 2025•17 min•Ep. 49
We are now entering milk pricing season in the Australian dairy industry, which means there will be plenty of headline news as we head into milk processors announcing prices on the 1st June as required under the mandatory Dairy Code of Conduct. Joanne Bills, Director of the Global Insights team with Ever.Ag (Freshagenda) outlines their forecast around milk pricing with particular reference to the NSW industry and we also discuss some of the implications of the Trump Administration’s tariff annou...
May 01, 2025•34 min•Ep. 48
Over 170 dairy farms across SE QLD and the North Coast of NSW were impacted by severe flooding and wet conditions as a result of Tropical Cyclone Alfred in early March this year, 2025. This resulted in losses of power, pasture and crop and other feed losses, for some farms a period of time where milk was unable to be picked up and infrastructure damage on farm and off farm such as land slips impacting road access to farms. Herd health is always a major issue in this situation and this month we f...
Mar 31, 2025•46 min•Ep. 47
Too hot, too dry, too wet - seasonal conditions can be challenging to manage for those on the land. Forecasting for the season ahead can be difficult but is important when planning what you will do now or in the coming months. The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s Climate team have some excellent freely available resources including a recently released Drought Forecasting tool. Kel Langfield and Jen Wurtzel from the team step us through these tools and how they can ...
Mar 01, 2025•31 min•Ep. 46
Are you a farmer or interested party looking to undertake a development on your dairy farm? Planning farm developments is complex and involves planning and assessment requirements which can be tricky to navigate. This month my colleague Zita Ritchie discusses the recent release of the NSW Dairy Development Guidelines with Clare Fitzpatrick who is a renowned and respected planning consultant within the dairy industry. The guidelines are designed to help anyone involved in decision making around p...
Jan 31, 2025•32 min•Ep. 45
The 13th year of the Dairy Farm Monitor Project in NSW was one in which strong milk prices managed to hold gross farm incomes relatively stable. Increases in operating costs reduced average Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) relative to the previous year, with the most noticeable impact coming from purchased feed costs. On average, profits for the 36 NSW Dairy Farm Monitor Project (DFMP) participants remained strong at $2.12/kgMS and above the long-term average of $1.36/kgMS, for the fourth...
Jan 01, 2025•33 min•Ep. 44
Very hot – that is the forecast for the summer ahead. Heat has immediate impacts on the performance of our dairy herd and pastures, but it also impacts other industries we rely on such as the broadacre cropping industry. Extensive work has been undertaken by the NSW Department of Primary Industries Climate Vulnerability Assessment program and also our own Dairy Unit through the Storm and Flood Industry Recovery Program to understand what the on farm climatic impact will be in NSW dairying region...
Nov 30, 2024•31 min•Ep. 43
Feed costs are the highest operational costs in a dairy business, so it is vital that we manage these well in order to enhance our farm’s profitability. We are currently well into a somewhat mild spring here, in most regions of New South Wales, so thought it would be a good opportunity to revisit some earlier podcast episodes on key aspects of profitable pasture management and silage making. The extracts come from a couple of very popular episodes and even though they are a couple of years old,...
Oct 31, 2024•26 min•Ep. 42
Late in 2023, a group of dairy farmers from across NSW were interviewed about their experiences, decisions made, support networks and lessons learnt following a number of recent natural disaster events, including the 2021-2022 floods. Tori Alexander (DPIRD) and Nikki Reichelt (University of Melbourne) share some of the findings from these interviews and the key challenges and successes observed. For further information on the interview findings and products take a look at the Storm and Flood Ind...
Oct 01, 2024•27 min•Ep. 41
NSW dairy farmer Brad Winzer shares his journey, moving their well-established family farm from Northern Victoria to the Mid Coast of New South Wales – the reasons why, the differences between farms and the challenges they faced. He outlines the key support people he uses in the business, how he manages and monitors the performance of the business, and the things he focusses on to drive a profitable farm performance. This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit It is...
Aug 31, 2024•21 min•Ep. 40
This month’s episode focuses on a project looking at intensive dairy systems in Inland NSW and Northern Victoria over the last 7 years. This has provided the industry with quality foundational information on the profitability, cost structures and risks of these systems. Claire Waterman from Agriculture Victoria and Sheena Carter (NSW DPI) led the project for their respective regions and were recently interviewed for a Rural Bank podcast called “Beyond the Farm Gate”. A big thank you to Rural Ban...
Jul 31, 2024•26 min•Ep. 39
Feed costs are typically the largest component of operational costs in a dairy business, typically making up 50 – 60% of total costs, depending on feeding system, seasons and conditions. Hence it is vital that what is being fed to the cows results in good milk production. David Barber, DairyNEXT nutritionist joins us this month to discuss the important topic of feed conversion efficiency. He outlines what it is, how to measure it, targets for different types of feeding systems and factors that c...
Jun 30, 2024•32 min•Ep. 38
The use of a structured approach within a NSW dairying business to assist with decision making and risk management, is discussed this month with Kay Smith from Bulahdelah. The Smiths have been operating a family dairy business for over 40 years and 5 years ago, faced with a number of challenges, were weighing up their future options. One of these involved a significant change to the business requiring a lot of capital investment and risk. Kay introduces us to the business and steps us through th...
May 31, 2024•36 min•Ep. 37
This episode follows on from episode 35 “Successfully navigating farm loans” but focusses specifically on financing for large infrastructure projects such as cow housing facilities. This topic was addressed by my guest, Greg Kuchel, Senior Insights Manager at Rural Bank at the 2nd Raising the Roof conference in Hunter Valley of NSW earlier this year. Greg also touches on the evolving area of farm Carbon Plans and their place in seeking farm finance. Links to useful resources related to this podc...
Apr 30, 2024•22 min•Ep. 36
My guest for this episode is Greg Kuchel, Senior Insights Manager at Rural Bank who spoke recently at the “Raising the Roof” conference in Hunter Valley of NSW about farm loans in particular for infrastructure loans related to cow housing facilities. Greg and I had such a good discussion that we have turned this into a two-part series. This first episode covers the general principles and considerations when approaching banks for finance – what you need to do, information you need to provide, wha...
Mar 31, 2024•25 min•Ep. 35
What were some of the features of the Top 25% of NSW Dairy Farm Monitor farms in the 2023 financial year? This month’s podcast provides insights into some of the physical and financial metrics associated with their productivity and profitability compared to that of the remaining 75% of farms in the project. Links to useful resources related to this podcast: NSW DFMP Annual Report DairyBase Link to January 2024 podcast: Highs and Lows of Dairy Farm Monitor 2023 This podcast is an initiative of th...
Feb 29, 2024•26 min•Ep. 34
With a national focus on reducing dairy GHG emission intensity by 30% by 2030, farm greenhouse gas emissions are currently getting a lot of attention. This month we take a look at what has been happening with emissions on NSW dairy farms through the lens of our Dairy Farm Monitor Project. Links to useful resources related to this podcast: NSW DFMP Annual Report (pg. 35-36) Dairy Farm Emissions (Dairy Australia) Dairying for Tomorrow – links to Aust Dairy Carbon Calculator etc. Episode 26: Dairy ...
Jan 31, 2024•25 min•Ep. 33
The 2023 financial year saw the highest average profit for the Dairy Farm Monitor participants in the 12 years of the project in NSW. Jess Bell hosts this month’s episode as she teases out what the main drivers were behind this performance with Sheena Carter. It was yet another very challenging year with more floods which had a big impact on the majority of farms across the state. Links to useful resources related to this episode: DFMP Annual Report & Interactive Report DairyBase Farm Busine...
Dec 31, 2023•35 min•Ep. 32
Rearing heifers well is an extremely important aspect of herd management. Selecting the right heifers and ensuring they reach target weights in a specified time period is integral to the future production of your herd. However rearing heifers is a costly exercise so thought and planning is important to ensure you get it right. Carrying too many heifers can be expensive and tie up farm resources. This is particularly so in dry times which we are currently seeing through much of NSW. Today my gues...
Nov 30, 2023•31 min•Ep. 31
With much of the State of NSW currently experiencing very dry conditions NSW DPI reached out to Tim Ford, Director at Feed Central to provide an update for the industry on the current situation and outlook for fodder supply. Tim presented this information at our recent Dairy Breakfast webinar in conjunction with a presentation from the DPI Climate team on the seasonal conditions and tools available to farmers to help monitor the current conditions and assess forecasts for the period ahead. Feed ...
Nov 03, 2023•23 min•Ep. 30
Dairies are complex businesses requiring a very broad range of skills to manage. In today’s environment, good business management skills are more important than ever. This is recognised by industry organisations whose role is to support farmers such as the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Dairy Australia as well as farm consultants who provide individual farm support in various technical areas. Jane Bower, who is an Extension Officer and Engagement Lead with Dairy NSW joins me to discuss...
Sep 30, 2023•30 min•Ep. 29
Recently a farmer reference group was formed in the Mid Coast region of NSW to provide information and guidance on an economic and risk analysis of rearing non-replacement calves. The project was led by Dan Armstrong, Senior Consultant with the RM Consulting Group. In the analysis, Dan and his team used two of the farms as case studies where the goal was to sell the non-replacement calves as dairy beef and investigate whether it would be economically practical to hold onto these calves and pursu...
Aug 31, 2023•28 min•Ep. 28
Interest in NSW and Australia in intensive dairy systems has grown significantly in the last decade due to many factors. These systems require significant capital investment, so it is important that if this is a system that interests you, you really do your homework. Through DairyUP, a large research, development and extension program in NSW, NSW DPI with joint funding from Dairy Australia, has undertaken an economic and social science project looking at the profitability of intensive farms in N...
Jul 31, 2023•46 min•Ep. 27
Greenhouse gases, carbon emissions, carbon credits, mitigation strategies, emission reduction targets - these are terms that are bandied about regularly in relation to agriculture and dairying. What do they all mean and how do they impact you at a farm level? This month, my colleague Zita Ritchie interviews Blake Cheer a Dairy Development Officer with NSW DPI and Aaron Simmons, a senior research scientist also with the DPI. Blake has a background in Climate & Environmental Management which w...
Jun 30, 2023•35 min•Ep. 26
NSW dairy farmers have faced many extreme weather and climatic challenges in recent years from severe and prolonged drought to bushfires and then widespread flooding. There is no doubt we will continue to see these events and others occur in the future. We need to get better at preparing for, responding to and managing our recovery in these situations. With this in mind, last year a large collaborative research, development and extension program worth $16 million was launched. This 5-year progra...
May 31, 2023•36 min•Ep. 25
Silage is used to varying degrees and in different ways on NSW and Australian dairy farms, depending on the type of feeding system the farm has. It can be an important component of your herd’s diet and given that producing it comes with additional costs compared to directly grazed pasture, it is important to make sure you do it well to make it economical. My guest this month is Neil Griffiths, a well-known agronomist who worked for many years with the NSW Dept of Primary Industries as a Pasture ...
Apr 30, 2023•33 min•Ep. 24
Guests Bill Fulkerson and Ken Bryant speak with Zita Ritchie about a new cultivar of kikuyu which has shown resistance to fungal infections, particularly kikuyu yellows. Key management strategies are also discussed for kikuyu. Bill is a well know dairy researcher with many years of experience, particularly supporting farmers on the Far North Coast of NSW. Ken is a dairy farmer at Bexhill near Lismore and a director of the Norco Board and has been involved in the development of the new cultivar a...
Mar 31, 2023•37 min•Ep. 23
It is coming up to a key time of the year for many of our dairy businesses, that being the autumn sowing period. There are many things to consider now to get the best outcome for your pasture production in the winter and spring period ahead. My guest this month is agronomist Josh Hack from Ag Farming Systems. Josh recently spoke at an autumn pasture and seasonal update day held on farm near Taree on the Mid North Coast of NSW which was organised by the Hunter Local Lands Services. In this sessio...
Feb 28, 2023•30 min•Ep. 22
Genomics - to some farmers this is an amazing innovation that they have embraced with open arms. For others, it may be a bit of a scientific mystery but according to Rob Cooper, my guest this month it is actually very simple to use and a powerful tool that he is passionate about and would like to see more people in the industry adopt. Rob is well known to many in dairying. He was a successful dairy farmer for many years always open to new ideas, reading and travelling widely to increase his know...
Jan 31, 2023•40 min•Ep. 21
