The Herd ’23 dairy production conference drew 200 industry stakeholders to Bendigo on March 15 and 16.
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Farmers, scientists and industry experts attended the two-day event to hear updates on current research into sustainable milk production.
DataGene chair and MC for the conference, Graeme Gillan, said the event was well attended.
“There’s [about] 100 businesses represented in the room, either wholesalers, retailers and those in delivery, and there’s over 30 farm enterprises here,” Mr Gillan said.
“It really represents an opportunity for people, whether you’re a dairy farmer or an AI technician, to actually talk to someone who has helped develop the breeding value of dairy cows.
“Over the years since we first started, there has been a number of key initiatives identified that have now come into fruition.”
STgenetics laboratory technician Rachel Meuwly attended the event and said it was a good opportunity to see the impact of her research within a broader scope.
“Our main work is in developing sex-specific semen to give farmers choice in their breeding strategies,” Miss Meuwly said.
“I have really enjoyed the points on sustainability and being a part of the circular economy.
“I hope I can take that back to the lab and help make our work as seamless as possible.
“I think the industry is on track for sustainability but there is always more we can do.“
La Trobe University researcher Professor Jennie Pryce gave the attendees a summary of the role of genetics in creating a sustainable future for the industry.
Prof Pryce said selection based on genomic breeding values was crucial for producing milking cows with greater production and was also good for the environment.
“The ideal cow is one that converts feed into milk efficiently,” Prof Pryce said.
“The focus of this work is on the measuring of methane production.
“However, the reliability of data is relatively low for using GEBVs.
“So we need more data.”
Prof Pryce’s research group relies on measuring methane production of cows by fitting them with costly and work-intensive harnesses that have methane detectors.
Another development for gaining methane data is the use of GreenFeed bins in which methane is measured while cattle eat with their heads inside an enclosed feeder.
“We only have data from 500 cows, but it is a really rich data source,” she said.
Prof Pryce said sustainability in the industry was “a big deal”.
“Why should we care? Livestock account for six per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.”
La Trobe University PhD student Boris Sepulveda agreed more data was needed as part of his collaboration with scientists in Spain in extracting cow rumen to study the biome (genetic make-up) of digesting microbes.
“The correlation of aspects of the rumen microbe biome with methane production is very strong,” Mr Sepulveda said.
“We have done a pilot study but we need to increase the sample size from other populations of cows.
“The more cows, the better.
“The breeding for less methane emissions is our main goal and analysis of the genome is just one strategy to achieve it.
“It is also influenced by the cow’s diet.”
The group’s research uses a Sustainability Index determined by the amount of carbon produced per kilogram of protein in milk.
The Sustainability Index was also the topic of GeneTech’s Thuy Nguyen and farmer Tim Jelbart’s presentation.
“What the index does is allow farmers to fast-track breeding for reduced greenhouse gas emissions,” Dr Nguyen said.
Mr Jelbart has produced a cow with Australia’s highest known Sustainability Index.
“She got pregnant at her first insemination, had no mastitis and has a very high Balanced Performance Index,” Mr Jelbart said.
Although the cow was bred as part of the research program and had a very high Sustainability Index, Mr Jelbart was yet to meet her.
“She has sat in a herd of 1000 cows just doing her thing,“ he said.
Dairy farmer Lauren Finger spoke about novel farming methods on her family’s dairy farm in south-east Victoria, which runs 550 cows and breeds Friesians and Jerseys.
Mrs Finger said their farm was unique.
“We are hard to put in a box,” she said.
“We are more aimed toward the business side of farming, rather than the lifestyle side.
“We are pretty much up there on maintaining best practice and people remain a key part of our farm.
“We give our people the autonomy and try to teach them the ‘why’ of what we do.
“We very much hire staff to our values and experience is not a necessity.”
Management of the herd on the farm depended on local conditions and has resulted in very large differences in grain feed to accommodate changes on a seasonal basis.
Mrs Finger said pasture improvement through caring for soil was a key factor in their success.
“We were putting on too much fertiliser, and with over a tonne to the hectare of urea it felt like something needed to change.
“We are now looking more at how nature functions and what we can learn from that.
“We want to work with nature and not against it.”
One method used on the farm is allowing a diverse range of plants to grow within the pasture, including dock weeds.
“Such deep-rooted plants help the soil,” Mrs Finger said.
“We see it as something that’s adding value instead of being a weed; such deep tap-root plants are improving our soil health.
“But an untidy paddock is the result of what’s grown.
“The neighbours don’t like it, but it’s good for the soil.”
Key note speaker Barry Irvin discusses ‘circularity’, see page 6.