Barry Zimmermann is to be the new head of InCalf, Dairy Australia’s national project to increase cows’ fertility.

Dr Zimmermann will take over from Steve Little who has served the project for four years.

InCalf is funded entirely by dairy farmers through their Dairy Service Levy and provides farmers with a step-by-step guide to boosting fertility in their herds.

Dr Zimmermann, a vet based in Inverloch, South East Victoria, began his association with InCalf more than five years ago as a trained adviser and farmer trainer before becoming the project’s regional co-ordinator for Gippsland.

Dairy Australia’s head of farm change management and delivery, Stephen Coats, said Dr Zimmermann came well prepared for his new role.

“He is a competent, credible project leader. He inherits an InCalf project which is in good shape and which will continue to bring concrete benefits to farmers,” Mr Coats said.

InCalf has flourished since Dr Little took the reins in 2003 – it has now trained more than 300 dairy advisers to help farmers increase their herds’ fertility. Within that group there are about 45 people capable of training farmer groups.

Under Dr Little’s leadership, a number of key initiatives came to fruition such as the Fertility Focus Report, a way for individual farmers to measure their herd’s fertility.

Dr Little will continue to work with Dairy Australia as the project manager for Grains2Milk, a major new Dairy Australia-funded project designed to help farmers obtain and best use their grain and concentrates.

ENDS

For more information, contact Sid Pickering on (03) 9694 3894 or 0408 175 611 or This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it