Dairy farming is tough work. It’s gritty and it’s dirty and a third of it is spent before you even think about scrambling out of bed to get ready for work.
As milk is being poured onto cereal and added to that morning lifesaver – coffee – dairy farmers have spent about four hours milking their herd ready for it to be picked up by the tanker.
Starts as early as 4am are not only bearable, they are common, and a dairy farmer may spend more than 12 hours with his herd every day.
It may appear to be thankless work but every dairy farmer is fiercely passionate, just ask Kayena dairy farmer Peter Jones.
A UK ex-pat, Mr Jones has “always been a dairy farmer” and travelled to Tasmania amid promises of cheaper land prices and a better lifestyle and has been farming the property at Kayena since 2008, when it was converted from a beef property.
“I’ve always been a dairy farmer...you have to be passionate about what you do...any dairy farmer that tells you they don’t care for their cows or the lifestyle is probably lying,” Mr Jones laughed.
Limberlost is a truly rural property, tucked behind the sprawling vines of Tamar Ridge vineyard. It is invisible from the main road. Driving down the gravel road in the dark, rabbits and wallabies scurry out of the way of the car.
Cresting a rise in the road and Limberlost sprawls out across the landscape, paddocks of bobby calves huddle together around the hay ring for food and warmth.
The milking cows, an 800-strong herd of cross-bred Jersey and Friesens, can be seen munching on grain that has been fed into a trough at the centre of the holding paddock.
A hum of activity surrounds the milking shed with fingers of light spilling from the shed’s open doors.
“The cows, they all get to mean quite a lot to you...they are really inquisitive and curious creatures,” Mr Jones said.
The role of the dairy farmer in the milk production chain has been put in stark relief this month when two of the major dairy processors announced sharp cuts to the farmgate price for milk solids.
Milk solids is the part which farmers are paid for, they are paid a premium on each kilogram of milk solids they produce. Milk solids is the percentage per litre of milk that is made up of fat and protein.
Earlier in the month, Murray Goulbourn and Fonterra announced they would slash the farmgate price for milk solids, the price the farmer is paid for his milk, in a move that angered and outraged farmers across the country. Cuts to the price were also made by Lion (to variable pricing only) and only this week by Cadbury.
As a supplier for Lion Limberlost has been “sheltered somewhat” by the cuts in price but Mr Jones said it wasn’t a good time to be in the business.
The Limberlost herd is milked twice a day, the first begins at 4.15am and it takes about three hours to get through the herd.
About 50 cows can fit on the rotating milking station at once and are herded on and attached to the automatic milking cups.
The cups have a sensor that detects when the cow is “dry” and automatically falls off and returns to its hook on the machine.
Cows that have been milked are backed out, sprayed with nitrogen, to keep the bugs and bacteria away, and corralled to a holding pen for a feed of grain before they head back out to their paddocks.
Limberlost cattle produce on average 14,500 litres of milk per day that is collected and an average of 365,000 kilograms of milk solids per year.
Mr Jones said the herd knew its routine and although there were always some routine antics by some of the cattle they did know what they needed to do.
“The ‘hierarchical’ cattle, they will always lead and go first, but you always get one or two that try to go back on [the milking station], they get a bit of feed to entice them on so they try and get on to go another round,” Mr Jones said.
A support package for dairy farmers affected by the cuts was announced by Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce on Wednesday.
Mr Joyce said a re-elected Coalition government would work with the dairy industry to establish a commodity milk price index, to help ensure the domestic dairy industry did not find itself in a tough situation again, where dairy processors unexpectedly reduced farm gate milk prices late in the season.
He said the pricing index would introduce greater transparency and market signals for domestic and global milk prices.
Mr Joyce said the Coalition was also making $55 million immediately available in Dairy Recovery Concessional Loans for Murray-Goulburn and Fonterra suppliers this year and access to $500m in concessional loans over 2016-17 and 2017-18.
The cows, they all get to mean quite a lot to you...if a dairy farmer tells you they aren’t passionate about their work then they’re probably lying.
- Dairy farmer Peter Jones.
State Primary Industries Minister Jeremy Rockliff also announced an expanded support package for Tasmanian farmers on Wednesday after first announcing funding on Tuesday.
The state government will reallocate $140,000 to more farmer support programs.
The government has already committed to providing $135,000 over three years to the Rural Financial Counselling Service and $569,000 to Rural Alive and Well.
Mr Rockliff said he welcomed the announcement made by his federal counterpart to support the industry at this time. The dairy industry is worth $440 million in Tasmania and supports an estimated 430 farms and 1400 jobs.
Caitlin Jarvis
I have worked in the Tasmanian digital/print media for 11 years, spanning two newsrooms. I have developed a keen interest in agricultural, development and education news, as well as issues-based long-form journalism. Contact me at caitlin.jarvis@examiner.com.au
I have worked in the Tasmanian digital/print media for 11 years, spanning two newsrooms. I have developed a keen interest in agricultural, development and education news, as well as issues-based long-form journalism. Contact me at caitlin.jarvis@examiner.com.au
