A focus on business management and measurement
For more than a decade, Brunswick Junction dairy farmers Michael and Leanne Partridge have used Dairy Farm Monitor Project (DFMP) data to fine‑tune their operation - helping the family farm become one of the Western Australia’s top performers while navigating some of the state’s toughest production years.
Dairy Australia’s DFMP combines detailed physical and financial data from dairy farms nationally, including about 25 in Western Australia, and allows farmers to benchmark against similar farms and spot small but meaningful efficiency gains. By tracking trends over time, DFMP helps farmers make clearer, more confident decisions about managing costs, feed strategies and overall business direction.
Michael and Leanne Partridge have been farming in Western Australia’s South west for more than three decades on a property that has been in the family for about 135 years. The Partridges milk about 750 cows year-round, calving about 900 annually to maintain a consistent supply that matches WA's market needs, which requires fairly flat supply.
The operation is predominantly pasture-based supplemented with bale concentrate feeding and quality hay. The irrigated areas are mainly kikuyu, with Italian ryegrass drilled in every autumn to keep the feed base productive.
A focus on management and measurement is what drew Michael to the DFMP. Michael first heard about the project through Western Dairy field days and discussion groups and decided to get involved to see how his farm compared.
“You never stop learning,” he said. “I encourage my son and staff to do the same.”
“You never really know how your numbers stack up against others or how you can improve unless you measure it.
”After nearly ten years participating, Michael’s data now forms part of the WA industry’s benchmark. “It’s been good to see where we sit,” he said.
“We run a pretty simple system, but we found we were one of the top performers in our group. That was good to know - that keeping things simple can still deliver strong results.”
The Partridge’s approach is proof of that philosophy. Rather than push the limits of their home block, they expanded by purchasing additional land, converting an old beef property back into a functioning dairy with a 16-stand rotary.
“We milk 150 to 200 cows there with one person,” Michael said. “That’s allowed us to grow without changing our system.”
For Michael, the project offers value on multiple levels - personal, business and industry. On farm, the DFMP data gives him insight into where the business stands financially and operationally each year, helping identify opportunities to tweak and tune small efficiencies. Within his local discussion group, it sparks conversations and comparisons that challenge participants to understand what drives performance differences between farms.
“It’s good to sit in a room with other farmers and talk through the numbers,” Michael said. “You can see what someone else is doing better, work out why, and decide if you can apply that to your own system. Not everything fits every farm, but there are always ideas you can take away.”
At an industry level, the data provides a clear picture of how WA’s dairy sector is performing, by providing the State with accurate data.
For producers, the DFMP highlights the wide variation between the top and bottom performers and the common factors that underpin success. That information gives producers something to aim for, even if how they get there looks a bit different.
“There are always trends that stand out - pasture grown, pasture consumed - and those are the things the top 25 per cent consistently get right,” Michael said.
The insights from the DFMP also strengthen business decisions.
“If something’s not working, you can see it in the data,” Michael said. “It helps you know when to make changes, and when not to. For us, it’s shown that our system works, so rather than overhaul it, we just fine-tune.”
After almost ten years of involvement, the DFMP remains a cornerstone of how Michael measures and manages his business.
“It’s good information at three levels,” Michael said. “For us as individual farmers, for groups comparing performance, and for the State as a whole.
“It’s about understanding what’s working, what’s not, and making better decisions because of it.”
For more information on the DFMP, reach out to the Dairy Australia team or visit Dairy Farm Monitor Project.
The DFMP in Western Australia is supported by Dairy Australia and Western Dairy, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.