Thought Leadership and Opinion Archives - Page 58 of 60 - Clover Hill Diaries

Seeding season begins with a bang and a whimper

Growing pasture is an art form and dairy farmers are pasture specialists because our cows demand (and so they should) the best quality pasture our soils can grow.

We have a highly intensive dairy farm system with the home farm having an effective milking area of only 50ha (actual land available to graze cows). Our key management strategy is to grow as much pasture as we can and this allows us to have a high stocking rate. We currently run 5 to 6 cows/ hectare. ( FYI this is 2.5 x the industry average)

The home farm has a pasture base of kikuyu – a South African grass that thrives (sometimes too well ) in our climate. Well managed “Kik” can be a very effective summer feed for our cows but it becomes almost dormant in the colder months. To ensure the cows have plenty of energy dense highly quality autumn/winter pasture we sow oats and annual ryegrass at Clover Hill. See footnote

Seeding season begins on 1st March every year and lasts for eight weeks and tends to be a very stressful period with two tractors operating around the clock.

One with a direct drill (above) on the flatter landscapes and one with a super spreader (below pix) broadcasting seed on the steep slopes.

These days we start with a light “knockdown spray” which stuns the kikuyu and allows the ryegrass and oats to establish well

We then broadcast the seed and let the dry (cows not milking) cows in to walk it in.

It doesn’t take long and the ryegrass and oats is just starting to poke through.

Its going to be a challenge in the next couple of weeks The farm is waterlogged and after the accident yesterday we are now short one tractor, so we are well and truly under the pump to deliver the best quality pasture on time for our girls.

“Walking on eggshells”

You can find out more information here

Footnote: When we have reviewed all of the perennial pasture trial results from Lemon Grove we hope to be able to translate that research into on farm action at Clover Hill

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

The Good

Take it from me farming has many great positives. For me its the mental intensity, the constant review process, the drive to get up each day and do it better For our team its about the cows and growing the best quality pasture we can to feed them.

For Louise its taking care of next gen

The Bad

But lets be honest there can be some serious negatives. It is well known farming is one of the most dangerous occupations in Australia. Only one in 10 workplaces are farms, yet they account for one quarter of all work-related deaths. Children under 15 years and adults over 65 years are more likely than others to be injured or killed on farms. Males are more likely to be injured than females via http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Farm_safety_risks_and_hazards?open

Yesterday’s post The big wet has left us a little worse for wear in more ways than one was a timely reminder to stay safe on farm

The Ugly

Farming is also very physical and pretty hard on the body

These are farmers knees – not a pretty site. Plenty of bone on bone here and shortly Michael is having a double knee replacement and they tell us that’s not much fun. Michael has a condition called traumatic arthritis which is a legacy of altercation 15 years ago with a bull who ploughed him into a concrete trough

Michael isn’t having much luck lately as he was the person somersaulting down the hill in the tractor yesterday

Russell has now come and inspected the damage after the tractor lost traction on the water logged slope and slid down the hill at a rapidly increasing rate of knots and hit a tree amongst a few other things with the “old boss” on board

Russell has declared this the worst bent roll frame he has ever seen yet the drivetrain and all the castings are intact as is the driver.

No oil leaks and even the front axle is still intact

And it looks like the GPS is still functional and the radio works

Yes we are taking the good with the bad and the ugly and early next week we will be having a team meeting and reviewing our Farm Safe procedures.

Stay safe Michael

Don’t tell the cows but yoghurt grows on trees

This story by Saffron Howden “Cultural cringe: schoolchildren can’t see the yoghurt for the trees”made the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald and not only that it was the most read article nationally. I am not sure I should tell you this but the whole world is talking about it. If you Google “yoghurt grows on trees” you get almost 1.7 Million hits on the web on this story line

At the farm we have decided that we wont tell the cows that 27% of children surveyed think yoghurt comes from trees. It will break their hearts.

It was bad enough to learn that most people didn’t know cows had four teats let alone this latest travesty.

But seriously what is it we want people to know about agriculture. I am sixth generation farmer. I grew up on a beef and sheep farm not returning to the dairy industry until I was 22. I will readily admit I had no idea how many teats a sheep had until I looked it up the other day. They have two by the way

Sydney School students visit Clover Hill Dairies

Today farming is diverse, its complex, underpinned by the latest science and research and is highly technical. Its also dynamic, innovative and can be a very rewarding career pathway.

One of my next door neighbours is an engineer and for quite sometime taught advanced engineering at Sydney Uni. He loves living on the farm and being part of a working dairy landscape. We have had many many discussion about educating people about agriculture. He tells me its not so much about educating but building an appreciation. He uses the mobile phone as an example. He tells me the mobile phone is the most technically complex device on planet but it is not necessary for people to understand how it works they just appreciate it works and he believes this is where agriculture should focus.

For agriculture I like use the Sydney Harbour Bridge as an analogy. We value it as an Australian icon. We appreciate its a complex structure, but we don’t need to understand the intricacies of how it is put together. When we cross from one side to the other with our most precious cargo, our families, on board we just need to have confidence in the people who designed it and trust who the people who built it .

My neighbour is right. The key is for farmers to actively engage and have two way conversations with urban Australia to build trust and appreciation of Australian agriculture so the community will value the hands that grow it and the land that produces it.

There are many ways to do this and Art4agriculture was conceived for agriculture to have these conversations as early as we could.

On the farm we have taken every opportunity to share the Clover Hill Dairies story and its definitely a highly rewarding experience having two ways conversations with the people who not only love yoghurt but also know it is made from milk from happy healthy cows

I must be a good person because I am a Christian

I am always fascinated by politicians who have this innate ability to have a media opportunity waiting for them as they come out of church on a Sunday or people who feel it is imperative to state their political persuasion or their religious affiliations or what they eat or don’t eat as if the label alone confers them with character, integrity, ethics and values

I have great admiration for many people I have worked with who I don’t have any idea if they are Liberal or Labour or Green or Christian, or Agnostic, Jewish or Hindu or vegetarians or carnivores, heterosexual or homosexual or whatever. And I don’t really care. I know them by their actions not their words that they are men and women of integrity and character. This is the type of person who I want to surround myself with and can only be determined by watching their behaviour, their track record over time in responding to all sorts of situations.

What has this all to do with farming you ask. Quite a bit in fact
Life and business are far more complex than drawing a line and putting “Christian is good” on one side, and “Non-Christian is bad” on the other as one example.

The same applies to this ever growing propensity to demonise certain types of agricultural systems out of hand

The media is full of stories about the perils of conventional, large-scale agriculture, pointing to simpler ways of producing food that appear to be more in harmony with nature.

Large vs. small, family farms vs. corporate, organic vs. mainstream, free range vs. housed, grass fed vs. grain fed.The reality is it’s not the system it is how it is managed that really counts.
When it comes to the best approach to natural resource management and animal well-being we need to focus on measurable results that, in turn, will generate innovation and solutions to some of our most pressing problems on this planet. Not the least of which is to provide affordable, nutritious, ethically produced food that allows a reasonable return on investment for farmers that will allow them to feed a future 9 billion people and maintain life on Earth as we know it.

It is not just the community that is putting pressure on farmers. Some farm businesses and major retailers have taken to denigrating other farm management systems as a marketing tool to promote their own. The poultry industry is a classical example. How often do you see poultry advertised as “hormone free”.

Not only is this is a nonsense as all plants and animals have natural hormones in them- think plant sterols in soy milk, but worse still it casts doubt into the mind of the consumer that all the other chicken on the market must actually have hormones added. Absolute myth. Hormones have not added been to any poultry feed in Australia for over 40 years! You can read all about the Australian poultry industry here

At Clover Hill Dairies we have been guilty of wearing the occasional badge of honour ourselves

Up until we took over Lemon Grove Research Farm we proudly stated on all our literature that we don’t use herbicides and pesticides. When we took over Lemon Grove we suddenly found it was easy to say this because Clover Hill didn’t have plagues of army worms and red legged earth mite and nasty broadleaf weeds that grew like wildfire if let do so on the flood plain.

Judicious use of scientifically validated technology is one of the great advantages developed food producing nations like Australia have over many other countries. We have rigid and well regulated systems and safety checks in place that make our food some of the safest in the world, irrespective of whether it has been derived by conventional or non-conventional methods. If we read the labels and play by the rules we can be confident that the technologies that we use on farm are safe and the food that we produce is superior and as safe as any in the world.

At Clover Hill and Lemon Grove we will always aim to produce the best quality and safest food that is grown with the best interest of the environment and animals that it comes from.

However, our farming systems can not be locked into a religious type paradigm of what we think is best We must continue to adapt to our changing resource base, the seasons and climate, the economy and our markets. We also know that nature does not always get it right and some times we need to use technology to tip the balance back in favour of the farming system and the ever increasing people we need to feed.

We must acknowledge this if we are going to keep feeding our world from an ever shrinking resource base with a market place that continually wants to pay less for food that costs more to produce. We must always use technology and innovation smartly and consider the collateral effects of its use ensuring that our management and farming practices are at best practice rather than just reaching for the key to the chemical shed or the drug cabinet.

Good article by the BBC’s Richard Black on this Farming Needs a “Climate Smart'” Revolution

On a lighter side – Labels can mean many different things to different people

and this one

Future farming: research puts grass out to pasture

Todays post comes via Kiama Independent story on our field day we are hosting in partnership with Southern rivers cma

DANIELLE CETINSKI

22 Feb, 2012 01:00 AM

A RESEARCHER could have the answer to the future of dairy farming and the solution was born in Kiama.

Research company SBScibus director Neil Moss, who lives in Kiama, has spent the past eight years developing a new kind of pasture using no grass at all.

“We wanted another way of doing things to fill gaps in the feed base,” he said.

Dr Moss’ “salad bowl of ingredients” includes lucerne, chicory and plantain, which are all deep-rooted legumes and herbs – red clover is part of the mix because it grows quickly while the lucerne establishes itself, and the white clover fills in gaps in the pasture if other plants die out.

The trial pasture at Clover Hill Dairies’ research farm Lemon Grove at Jamberoo has already yielded some surprising results.

“We’ve found it generates 10 to 15 per cent more energy and the milk is 15 to 20 per cent higher in protein,” he said.

“We’re also getting between one-and-a-half and two litres more milk per cow per day spent on the pasture, which is a rise of five to 10 per cent.”

Dr Moss selected them from years of observations and fieldwork because they grow year-round, unlike the ryegrass and kikuyu commonly used on coastal dairy farms, which only grow in winter and spring and summer and autumn respectively.

They have deeper root systems than grass, meaning the pasture would be more resilient in times of drought.

They also rely less on nitrogen-based fertilisers, which are increasing in price, and respond to recycled effluent from the dairy.

Clover Hill Dairies owner Lynne Strong said she was excited about the research.

“It is widely recognised nine out of 10 farmers learn from other farmers and they want to see the research working in their own backyard,” she said.

The Southern Rivers Catchment Management Authority will run a field day at Clover Hill Dairies on March 26-27, allowing farmers to see the pasture firsthand.

“This field day will let regional farmers to see the results we are getting on our farm and allow them to determine if they think it will fit into their farming system,” Mrs Strong said.

It will include presentations on sustainable farming, soil health and the Australian Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative, including how to generate carbon credits.

Mrs Strong said the presenters were experts in their fields, including Dr Moss, Richard Eckard from the University of Melbourne, Mick Keogh from the Australian Farming Institute and Louisa Kiely from Carbon Farmers Australia.

Also speaking is Steve Wiedemann

Presentation topic: Carbon and Nutrient Efficiency; Opportunities for dairyfarmers

Profitability and sustainability are front and centre issues for dairyfarmers. One unlikely area where there may be opportunities to win on both fronts is from the manure pile. Steve Wiedemann will speak about the carbon and nutrient opportunities that exist for dairyfarmers through improving effluent and manure management. This will be a practical look at how to best utilise the resources that remain in waste streams at the dairy and in the paddock, and how to set a path to reducing some costly fertiliser inputs. Beyond the farm gate, we’ll also look at how dairy farmers might be able to participate in the carbon farming initiate by getting paid to reduce their emissions.

Technical summary:

Nutrient and carbon flows around the dairy farm – what they are and what they tell us
‘Waste energy’ – how to capture this (Anaerobic digestion at the farm scale)
‘Waste nutrients’ – where do under-utilised nutrients end up on a dairy farm and what can be done about it?
How increasing productivity can lower your carbon footprint
How emissions capture may lead to carbon credits

Bio:

Steve Wiedemann is a carbon and nutrient management specialist with FSA Consulting, based in Toowoomba Queensland. Steve is currently running a number of national R&D projects looking at the carbon footprint of livestock enterprises, is a member of the livestock technical committee for developing Carbon Farming Initiative methodologies, and works regularly with a wide range of famers in the area of nutrient management.

If you would like to attend the field day, email peter.pigott@cma.nsw.gov.au or phone on 4429 4449.

ICE-CREAM DELIGHTS

I was like an excited little kid waiting for Christmas Day and arrived early for day 3 of the Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Show judging. It is widely recognised the Sydney Royal Wine, Dairy and Fine Food Shows set the standard in Australian wine and food judging and offer producers a platform to benchmark their products within the Australian market. Only the most exceptional quality is recognised with gold and silver medals providing a perfect platform for marketing exposure.

All dressed up and ready to work

Today I was to have the ultimate sensory ice-cream experience stewarding the ice-cream judging at the Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like ice-cream and there I was eyeing off the best the country has to offer.

The Sydney Royal does everything with style and the day started with a yummy breakfast for judges and stewards.

I had a birds-eye view of the massive upgrade being undertaken on the arena

I had the pleasure of meeting international legend that is Herve Mons

Herve Mons discusses the day’s duties with Chairman of the Royal Dairy Produce Show Gerry Andersen

My mentor for the day was RAS Councillor and former chairman of the Sydney Turf Club Bill Picken. Bill is all personality and with lots of wise advice I soon got into the swing of things.

Racing Identity Bill Picken

Ice-cream judges Susan Burns, Craig Davis and Mark Livermore.

The steward’s role is to ensure the judging process runs smooth and effectively. This includes ensuring each entry is presented to the judges at the correct temperature.

A scoop of each ice-cream is placed on a separate plate behind the entry so the judges can view its melting profile. The judges then take numerous samples for tasting.

Ice-cream is judged on Flavour, Texture, Appearance and Melting.

Susan closes her eyes and mind to the world about her and holds each sample approximately the same length of time in her mouth,

As the ice cream melts on your tongue there should be a pure taste

To evaluate the flavour a small amount of the frozen ice cream is placed directly into the mouth and quickly manipulated between the tongue and palate and the taste and odour sensations are noted. By pressing a small portion of the frozen ice cream against the roof of the mouth the smoothness, the coarseness, the sandiness, and the relative size of the ice crystals can be determined

Mark clearly enjoys the task

The experts can get a fairly accurate impression of the ice-cream’s body and texture characteristics by dipping the ice cream. The judges notice the way it cuts and the feel of the dipper or spoon as its cutting edge passes through the ice cream.

You may have heard that the overall quality of an ice-cream line can be judged by tasting its vanilla. True. Simple and pure, a scoop of vanilla should have a distinctive but delicate flavour that lets you experience the texture of the ice cream without masking other quality indicators.

There was no shortage of flavours on offer

Appearance/Presentation – Ice cream should look freshly made. Icy crystals on the surface or around the edges of the tub indicate either that the ice cream has been melted and refrozen or that it’s old.

There was even a Banana and Vegemite Flavour

Texture –There has to be some “air” in ice cream or else it would be hard as ice. But you also don’t want it to be all fluffy. The surface of the ice cream should be smooth. There should be some heft to a cup of ice cream, and when you dig in your spoon, you should feel a little resistance.

A team of 5 RAS staff ensures everything runs smoothly and double and triple check every score card

Once the individual classes are judged and the gold medal winners decided the top four gold medal winners are bought out in each section to determine the champions in their respective categories

The judges from all the sections come together to decide the champions. One of the finalists was a Lamington flavoured ice-cream. Not surprisingly this was a flavour our French judge was not familiar with

Fellow judge Rob Elliott describing the Ozzie icon the “lamington” to Herve Mons

AND THE WINNER IS

Champion Ice-cream

Entry 413 Class 49 Premium Ice Cream or Gelato, any flavour, minimum 12% fat content. GUNDOWRING FINEST ICE CREAM GINGER

Don’t quote me but I got the impression that our Aussie Gelatos and ice-creams could compete with the best of the best world wide

And a great day was had by all including me. I look forward to doing it all again next year

See here for a full list of the Gold Medal Winners

Great follow up from ABC

http://www.abc.net.au/rural/content/2012/s3435882.htm#.T0Q-_9OKIDc.twitter

Determining the ultimate in dairy excellence

My family has been showing dairy cattle and judging dairy cattle for over 110 years. When I was girl ( mmh I do remember that far back) I began showing horses when I was seven and by this time we had moved from the dairy farm to a beef and sheep farm at Cowra and we showed steers as well at the Cowra Show.

The highlight every year has always been taking the show team to the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

“And nothing beats getting a blue ribbon at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. Its Royal. Its blue. Its beautiful.”

RAS Councillor Downes, the blue ribbon winner Tangalla Leduc Fond and proud Nick Strong

Winning a champion ribbon well that takes the cake

Since we have been milking three times daily finding time to prepare our cattle for a show is pretty tricky

But this doesn’t mean my involvement in the judging arena has ceased. For the past two years I have been a judge of the Junior District Exhibits at the Sydney Royal Easter Show and how clever are these kids

LtoR Runner Up and the winning Junior District Exhibit at the 2011 Royal Easter Show

You can see it wasn’t easy to pick between these two, Just as well I have my good friend Wendy Taylor who designs the Central District Exhibit to “train me up” to do the role justice

Wendy is the genius behind this display in 2010

This year I have an exciting new gig and I am officiating as a steward in the Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show This competition is held annually in the second week in February. Attracting between 900 and 1,000 entries in 130 classes, the Sydney Royal Cheese & Dairy Produce Show hosts the most prestigious and competitive events on the dairy show calendar. As well as butter, milk, cheese, cream, dips, dairy desserts, gelato, ice cream and chocolate, products judged also include sheep, goat and buffalo milk….

The judges start with mild cheeses in the morning and leave the likes of chilli cheese to the very last.

Cheese judges chew and then spit into buckets, just like their wine colleagues.

Because cheese is so “cloying” on the palate, green apples and olives help freshen the tastebuds.

This year the world renowned French Fromager and Affineur Herve Mons will be doing the honours. This is his first ever visit to Australia

The ‘big cheese’ when it comes to this art of affinage, is French Fromager and Affineur, Hervé Mons

The art of affinage, or cheese maturing, is gaining momentum in Australia as cheese lovers demand quality food experiences. Those who are serious about cheese want to know how, and for how long, a cheese has been cared for to maximise its flavour potential. Artisan cheeses are complex and unique depending on the conditions in which they are made and kept.
.

And how excited am I just love Australian cheese and I cant wait to tell you all about my experience . But my lips will be sealed about who wins what (I probably wont be be told anyway – it will be a big secret)

Young people telling it like it is

I caught up with the dynamo Mike Stephens at the NFF Roundtable last Friday and introduced him to Stephanie Coombes. We were then lucky enough to catch up with Associate Professor Peter Sale from La Trobe University over dinner where the conversation centred on nurturing young people in agriculture and how we identify them, engage them and provide them with the skills sets to empower them to lead Australian agriculture into the future.

Mike sent me this quote this evening. Don’t you just love it

I crave human beings who understand the world, who gain sustenance from such understanding, and who want–ardently, perennially–to alter it for the better. Such citizens can only come into existence if students learn to understand the world as it has been portrayed by those who have studied it most carefully and lived in it most thoughtfully; if they become familiar with the range–the summits, the valleys, the straight and meandering paths – of what other humans have achieved; and if they learn always to monitor their own lives in terms of human possibilities, including ones that have not been anticipated before. Source: Gardner, The Disciplined Mind – Penguin – pages 19/20

This week Art4Agriculture Young Farming Champion and Clover Hill Dairies team member Emma Visser is one of “ 36 young, thoughtful and opinionated Australians who will come together in Canberra today, February 5th to attend Heywire – a “Tell It Like It Is” Regional Youth Summit. The 2011 Heywire winners from across regional Australia will engage in a five days of discussion and project idea pitching. They will speak directly with government decision makers, Australian youth sector leaders and key ABC staff.”

Emma and fellow Heywire winners tackling the Marshmallow Competition

Emma joins talented young people of the ilk of Melody Pedlar for this once in a lifetime opportunity.

The challenge for agriculture is how do we build on these opportunities our shining stars are being given.

Bindi Turner commented on my previous post “The world is run by those who show up” by saying “I struggle with a) the apathy when its an open invitation and b) who gets the tap on the shoulder when its not”

Bindi you have inspired me to put this forward. I would like to suggest to all those people out there who get a tap on the shoulder – ask if you can bring a friend. Then identify an exciting inspiring YOUNG person in agriculture who deserves to be heard and take them – you have nothing to lose and agriculture has everything to gain.

The National Farmers Federation Blueprint is our chance to define the farming landscape. Lets make it a legacy we can all be proud of

Emma’s winning Heywire video can be watched here

The world is run by those who show up

Yesterday I participated in the National Farmers Federation roundtable to discuss Higher Education and Skills and Training in Agriculture as part of the Blueprint for Australian Agriculture.

There was a few farmers there, a number of representatives of peak industry bodies, a lot of bureaucrats,a lot of professors from agricultural universities, some thought leaders from industry service providers, a representative of the AWU and the RSPCA and some pollies.

Can you see the glaring big hole in the audience? Where were all the young people? All those exciting young people who have just been through, or are going through, or a hoping to go though “Higher Education and Skills and Training in Agriculture”

Yes we all sat around the room and listened and talked and second guessed their needs.

“The world is run by those who show up” Its time agriculture made sure the right people were given the opportunity to show up

When art becomes the voice

Our eco warrior Erin Lake is leaving us to take up her placement in the Graduate Program for the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPaC). This department is responsible for a lot of things including a commitment to conserve Australia’s environment and to promote sustainable living within Australia.

Erin is perfect for this position which is offered to people who demonstrate leadership potential, enthusiasm and initiative

Erin is particularly hoping to work in the Land and Coasts division (which look after initiatives such as Caring for Our Country), where she will be able to apply the fundamental knowledge she has gained while working on ground, to achieve the best outcomes for managing Australia’s natural resources.

See previous posts about Erin here

Custodians of the Land

Next Gen Giving our Farm lots of TLC

Start the day with the perfect cocktail

Erin and Megan Rowlatt who heads up Illawarra Youth Landcare are the driving force of a group of young people who are not only passionate about the sustainability of the planet they are actually doing something about it.In fact Megan is the current NSW Young Landcarer of the Year.

Megan and Erin in full flight

Together we have been coordinating a number of activities which include film and social media and now art to engage, enthuse, educate and empower both farmers and rural landholders who care about their land but don’t necessarily have the skills sets to ensure the best outcomes for the landscape and the native animals.

We are using art to reinvigorate Landcare messages and Erin has left us with these superb artistic reminders ( made from 44 gallon drums) of her time with us..

Drum Art is now protecting endangered and treasured native species at Clover Hill

The drum artworks are Erin Lake inspired masterpieces painted by artists from La Division. This is a highly motivated group of young people who showcase the talent of local artists and share their passions through art, film, photography, surf and skate.

Visit LA’DIVISION Facebook page here

The label, La Division, is an outlet to produce clothing to help support local artists. La Division artists have been supporters of many community events including Landcare Illawarra’s Dune Day festival and the recent KISS arts festival.

LA’DIVISION artist at Dune Day

One of the great things about art is it enables participation from people of all ages and backgrounds. Its highly visual. It captures attention. It ensures people stop and think and appreciate

LA’DIVISION artist Trait said “Painting tawny frog mouths and fleshy fruits on 44 gallon drums is not exactly traditional street art but it was a great challenge and an even greater cause”