WA dairy farmers explore contained housing and effluent systems in Victoria

Like all of agriculture, Western Australia’s dairy sector continues to change.  

Some traditionally pasture-based systems are considering more intensive options when it comes to growing the business.  

In May, a group of local WA farmers and service providers had the opportunity to experience a day in the life of a total mixed ration dairy farmer in Northern Victoria.  

The study tour offered insights into both the opportunities and challenges of housed systems for Western Australian conditions. 

For many in the group, the farm visits were the standout experience. Walking through the barns highlighted the sheer scale of these operations.  

The tour coincided with the sold-out Raising the Roof conference, with international and local speakers on facility design, animal health, effluent, planning, and financials.  

The group was quick to assess how these systems might fit in back home.  

Freestall barns present some challenges, particularly due to the amount of capital required, and availability of irrigated land for growing feed and distributing effluent.  

Farms in Northern Victoria had significant areas of irrigation for highly productive fodder crops like maize, grown in rotation with winter cereals and legumes. The land base was always developed first before the herd size expanded. 

This land not only provides the majority of the feed requirements but also an opportunity to utilise fully the nutrient load collected from the barns and dairy.  

Where cows are being housed every day, bedding and cow comfort is another major consideration for these systems.  

One of the freestalls had sand bedding, while the other had straw-topped mattresses. The farmers viewed the mattresses with lime/straw bedding as more achievable than sand bedding, based on the infrastructure and management demands and the availability of straw and lime. 

The group then toured a composting barn, offering a valuable comparison of a loose housing facility, with lower capital costs per cow.  

It was clear that the operators of total mixed ration systems are technically excellent and meticulous when it comes to feeding.  

Typically, at least twelve months of fodder inventory was stored, to manage risks of a poor season. Longer term contracts for milk and grain were also found to help manage downside risks. 

Milkings occur three times per day, all year round, with high production required to dilute the increased fixed costs.  

In Western Australia’s climate, most farms operate systems somewhere in the middle. Pasture utilisation is targeted in the growing season, but dryland areas rely on conserved forages and concentrates in summer which brings associated costs.  

Farmers acknowledged that adopting more intensive systems requires years of planning, and not all sites are going to be suitable. 

A recurring theme throughout the tour was the untapped value of effluent. The Victorian farms helped demonstrate what’s possible with strategic planning.  

One operation, supported by 5,000 hectares of cropping land and a 300 megalitre effluent pond, achieved a fifty percent reduction in fertiliser costs in its first year. 

Another is producing 240 hectares of high yielding maize silage, with minimal additional synthetic fertiliser, using effluent shandied in irrigation water on average at 25 megalitres per day in summer. 

The separated solid manures and pond slurry was applied before sowing the crops, to add organic matter back into the soil. 

When fertiliser prices spike, as they did recently, all effluent ponds take on more value. 

The importance of smart design in the effluent system should not be underestimated.  

One of the freestalls only used gravity-fed systems and minimised pumping because, as the farmer put it, ‘gravity never fails’.  

A highly recommended watch is the Analysis of Contained Housing Dairy Farm Systems webinar recording and for further information and support, reach out to the local Dairy Australia team.  

Other resources are available on the Dairy Australia website, including the National Feedpad Contained Housing Guidelines.

Thanks to Western Dairy supporting Dairy Australia to make this opportunity possible.