The cost to produce a litre of milk is a question every dairy farmer could have at their fingertips, with the right farm business data.
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For Geoff and Tish Manning, and their daughter Claire, at Shade River Dairy in Mardella, Western Australia, finding that answer became the catalyst for a shift in how they manage and plan their business.
Geoff is a fifth-generation farmer, whose family were among the original settlers to arrive in Perth in 1852. The Mannings moved progressively south as the city grew, settling along the Serpentine River about 45 kilometres from the central business district.
Now, one of only two dairy farms remaining in the area, Shade River Dairy is a piece of WA’s agricultural history.
The farm runs about 300 stud Holstein Friesians through a 20-aside herringbone dairy, across a total mixed ration system and the Mannings produce their own silage and hay, supply more than 60,000 litres of locally produced milk a week to Italian artisan cheesemakers, and run a team of six full-time and casual staff.
With Claire now working alongside her father, their business blends generations of knowledge, with a fresh commitment to improvement.
“I don’t know anyone across all the organisations I’ve worked for globally who is as passionate or just loves what they do as much as dad,” says Claire.
Despite decades of experience, the pair recognised they were operating without a complete financial picture of their business. Costs including fuel, fertiliser, feed and general living expenses, were skyrocketing and the broader economic climate continued changing weekly, for at least six months. At the same time, the farm continued growing.
The Mannings expanded their herd, integrated new technology and managed increasingly complex data inputs across the business.
“We wanted to look at how the farm was performing financially and get all of those data inputs together,” explains Claire.
“We thought perhaps it could be optimised to improve performance, but how would we know if we didn’t have the data to look at that? Previously we were probably more so looking at our income, as opposed to everything separately,” she adds.
“We didn’t have the transparency or full visibility to really understand our cost of production.”
Whole of business visibility
The Mannings put their hand up to participate in Dairy Australia’s Dairy Farm Monitor Project (DFMP). They had been involved in the program three decades earlier, but recognised it had since evolved significantly in scope and reporting capability.
The DFMP provides a comprehensive physical and financial analysis of dairy farms across Australia, giving participants access to high quality comparative data through DairyBase – a benchmarking and analysis platform available to all dairy farmers. Through DairyBase, farmers can measure and compare their own farm business performance against industry benchmarks, including the top 25 per cent of WA farms, and identify specific areas for improvement.
For Geoff, Tish and Claire, it was exactly the kind of whole-of-business visibility they had been missing. The process of collating the required data - pulling together manual inputs across feed, labour, fuel, financials and herd performance took several months - the picture that materialised was invaluable.
“It took a long time to isolate different areas and know where to find everything,” says Claire.
“But we came out the other side with so much more clarity.”
From there, they engaged farm consultant Tom Farran through Dairy Australia’s Our Farm Our Plan (OFOP) program.
Designed to support farmers to improve business planning and better manage risk, Our Farm Our Plan provides one-to-one support over 24 months, helping farmers develop long-term goals, identify and prioritise actions, and manage uncertainty and risk.
For Geoff and Claire, combining the DFMP data with OFOP’s structured planning support meant they could move from understanding their numbers to actually acting on them.
They also became active members of Dairy Australia’s newly established Dairy Business Network WA, a peer support group for WA dairy farmers focused on connecting, sharing insights and building business resilience.
Claire attended Dairy Australia’s Raising the Roof 2026 intensive farming conference in Shepparton, where she gained valuable insights into best practice dairy intensification and effluent management in Victoria.
Identifying the once-percenters
Dairy Australia’s WA representative Jane Packard has been a consistent point of contact throughout, providing access to tools, templates and resources tailored to local conditions including the Fuel and Fertiliser Disruption online series, which helped the Mannings think differently about homegrown feed and navigate rapidly rising input costs.
“Jane has been really helpful with extra tools, templates and day-to-day operations,” says Claire. “It’s been good because otherwise we wouldn’t have that level of understanding and we would probably target areas that wouldn’t make much of a difference, or focus efforts in the wrong area.”
With the DFMP data now collated and consultant recommendations in hand, the pair have a clearer view of their business than ever before. The datasets cover EBIT and net profit to herd performance, variable costs, labour, fuel and grain – bringing visibility to the cost of production.
“We can work back from there around the areas to focus on that make a difference to profitability,” says Claire. “There’s no other avenue where it really comes together that well.”
Key areas of focus identified through the process include feed, labour efficiency and production optimisation. The Mannings are currently working through consultant recommendations while also pursuing quick wins.
“We are asking the right questions now,” says Claire. “How does this spend or this change impact the cost to produce a litre of milk? What are our one-percenters that we can swiftly improve, or what do we consider for next season?”
The plan is to repeat the DFMP annually, building a data history that allows the Mannings to track performance, compare year-on-year and make more informed decisions over time.
For Geoff, having the data has brought a greater sense of confidence and control.
“It does give you more confidence if you know your figures and are on the right track,” he says. “Like all small businesses, you want to try and maximise your profit margin as much as you can, but at the same time you need to keep upgrading your machinery, otherwise you end up in a hole you can’t get out of.”
Looking to future opportunities
The Mannings acknowledge they are still early in the journey and the full impact of changes made this year may not be visible until the next financial year. However, the foundation is now in place.
“We can set some targets of where we want to optimise and improve, with the support of Dairy Australia programs and consultants,” says Claire. “We will pinpoint the areas we want to measure more.”
Claire’s message to other dairy farmers is straightforward: ask for help and use what is available. “Just ask,” she says. “Access the support that is readily available to you. Talk to your local Dairy Australia team, they can connect you with the right programs, events and tools based on where your farm is at right now.”
“We can always learn more, no matter what age,” Geoff says. “We always make sure we walk away from any session with insights or learnings and look at how we can apply them on the farm.”
For support with business management and planning tools and data to improve farm performance, reach out to the local Dairy Australia team or visit our Farm Business page.
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.
Story courtesy of Dairy Australia.