The Business of Dairy

Dairy farmers are set to benefit now and into the future because of the research and development undertaken by a 5-year collaborative program in NSW that has recently come to an end. The DairyUP program was a unique collaboration that had ten key projects focussing on a broad range of areas including animals, pastures, farmer capability, future systems and products, the future climate and planning. Discussing some of the key outputs and resources for dairy farmers, our guest this episod...

For dairy farms located near poultry farms, poultry litter can be a valuable and cost-effective source of fertiliser. With ongoing volatility in fertiliser prices and availability, many farmers are taking a closer look at both the rates they apply and the alternative nutrient sources available to them. In this episode, I’m joined by agronomist Peter Beale to discuss all things poultry litter — including how to value it, when it makes sense to use it, and some of the practical limitations dair...

Welcome to this episode of The Business of Dairy. In this live recording from the 2026 Raising the Roof conference in Shepparton, Victoria, Claire Waterman from Agriculture Victoria and Sheena Carter share the latest update from the Total Mixed Ration Feeding Systems – Dairy Farm Monitor report. Covering the 2024–25 financial year, the report now brings together nine years of analysis, with insights into farm profit and the key cost drivers shaping TMR systems, including feed, overhead and fi...

Dairy farmers and farmers generally are facing significant challenges regarding their autumn sowing plans due to high fuel and fertiliser costs because of the war in the Middle East. Decisions need to be made by farmers to enable them to minimise the effects of this situation on pasture and herd production and ultimately financial performance. Nathan Jennings from the North Coast Local Land Services in NSW joins us to talk about some of the management options that farmers should consider rela...

Australia’s dairy sector is rich in performance data, and herd recording remains a key source of insights for on-farm decision-making and tracking national herd trends. In this episode, host Sheena Carter is joined by Michelle Axford (DataGene) to explore key takeaways from DataGene’s latest Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Report, including emerging trends in herd performance and how genetics and new research are shaping herd improvement. Resources: Australian Dairy Herd Improvement Report ...

Starting out as a milker and rising to herd manager of 900 cows, Tegan Gilfillan’s career is a true dairy success story. With more than 18 years spent on the one farm, Tegan has grown alongside Speldon Partnership, owned and operated by the Maslen family in the New South Wales Mid Coast region. Today, she leads both livestock and people, managing a large herd and a committed team of staff. In this episode, Tegan shares her journey and speaks candidly about the importance of people in a dairy ...

This month we revisit one of our very early episodes which was released on the 1st December 2023 which was a particularly dry period across most of NSW and other regions. My guest was Neil Moss, a veterinarian and consultant with Scibus. The focus of our discussion was on heifer management in dry times and while we currently have much of southern NSW, Victoria and SA who have been managing very dry conditions for a prolonged period, these conditions are expanding. I am recording this in...

The 2024-25 financial year was one of extremes for NSW dairy farmers with extraordinarily wet conditions in the North and significantly dry conditions in the South. Despite these challenges, average profitability on our NSW Dairy Farm Monitor farms was above the long-term average for the 5th year in a row. Average Return on Total Assets managed was 4.3%, down slightly from the previous year of 4.5%. In this episode we discuss factors that impacted these results and look at some of the regiona...

This month we continue the theme of planning, not business planning but farm development planning and approvals. My guest, Wendy Goodburn, a NSW DPIRD Land Use Planner joins us to explain the development and recent release of a fantastic, freely available online tool called myFarmPlanner. myFarmPlanner assists farmers, planners, consultants and local government with the pre-lodgement process for development applications related to on farm developments and upgrades. It is designed for the dair...

“Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” This is a quote from Dwight D Eisenhower who was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe in WWII and also the 34th President of the United States. What he as saying is that a plan is a guide that can often change in the heat of battle, but because there is a plan it means different risks and scenarios have been thought through, you know what your resources, risks and goals are and having thought all this through you now have a fo...

Farm businesses in some parts of NSW have experienced some very challenging weather events throughout 2025 including ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March and the East Coast Severe Weather event in May. When disasters of this scale occur and they are declared a severe weather event, the NSW Rural Assistance Authority (RAA) is the agency that administers funding made available by the state and federal governments. In this episode my guests introduce us to the RAA, its history, and its role in ad...

What is over-capitalisation, what does it look like on a dairy farm and how does it impact your business performance? It is important to be aware of how over-capitalisation can add to your business’s cost of production – adding to both cash and non-cash costs. This month, updates have been provided on average depreciation and interest costs as we revisit one of our very early podcast episodes. The content and insights provided by Jake are as relevant today as they were in 2021. Useful resourc...

How do you tell if your dairy business is heading in the direction you want it to? Is it ‘gut sense’ or can you quantify it? MiniMilkBiz is a tool that we have recently updated that allows you to generate some rich physical and financial reports to see how your milking herd is currently performing. This episode explains MiniMilkBiz, what information is required and outlines the two key reports that are generated. The show notes contain a link to download the tool from our website. Learn more:...

As Australian dairy farms have expanded and herd sizes grown, the demand for skilled labour has increased —but finding local workers can be challenging. In this episode, we explore how employing overseas staff through various visa options and the Dairy Industry Labour Agreement can help fill the gap. Migration agent Fadi Malek, who is Director of Global Skilled Employment Services and NSW dairy farmer Andrew Farr join us to unpack the process of registering, recruiting, and employing internat...

Producing milk with less lactose – why might this be important? Our guest this month is Juan Garguilo, one of my NSW DPIRD colleagues. Juan has been involved in a number of research projects as part of the NSW Dairy Up R& D initiative and if you are a long-term listener of this podcast, you will have heard his Argentinian accent before! Juan, in conjunction with other well known dairy researchers, Professor Yani Garcia (University of Sydney) and Russ Hovey (University of California – Davi...

We are now entering milk pricing season in the Australian dairy industry, which means there will be plenty of headline news as we head into milk processors announcing prices on the 1st June as required under the mandatory Dairy Code of Conduct. Joanne Bills, Director of the Global Insights team with Ever.Ag (Freshagenda) outlines their forecast around milk pricing with particular reference to the NSW industry and we also discuss some of the implications of the Trump Administration’s tariff an...

Over 170 dairy farms across SE QLD and the North Coast of NSW were impacted by severe flooding and wet conditions as a result of Tropical Cyclone Alfred in early March this year, 2025. This resulted in losses of power, pasture and crop and other feed losses, for some farms a period of time where milk was unable to be picked up and infrastructure damage on farm and off farm such as land slips impacting road access to farms. Herd health is always a major issue in this situation and this m...

Too hot, too dry, too wet - seasonal conditions can be challenging to manage for those on the land. Forecasting for the season ahead can be difficult but is important when planning what you will do now or in the coming months. The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s Climate team have some excellent freely available resources including a recently released Drought Forecasting tool. Kel Langfield and Jen Wurtzel from the team step us through these tools and how they c...

Are you a farmer or interested party looking to undertake a development on your dairy farm? Planning farm developments is complex and involves planning and assessment requirements which can be tricky to navigate. This month my colleague Zita Ritchie discusses the recent release of the NSW Dairy Development Guidelines with Clare Fitzpatrick who is a renowned and respected planning consultant within the dairy industry. The guidelines are designed to help anyone involved in decision...

The 13th year of the Dairy Farm Monitor Project in NSW was one in which strong milk prices managed to hold gross farm incomes relatively stable. Increases in operating costs reduced average Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) relative to the previous year, with the most noticeable impact coming from purchased feed costs. On average, profits for the 36 NSW Dairy Farm Monitor Project (DFMP) participants remained strong at $2.12/kgMS and above the long-term average of $1.36/kgMS, for the fou...

Very hot – that is the forecast for the summer ahead. Heat has immediate impacts on the performance of our dairy herd and pastures, but it also impacts other industries we rely on such as the broadacre cropping industry. Extensive work has been undertaken by the NSW Department of Primary Industries Climate Vulnerability Assessment program and also our own Dairy Unit through the Storm and Flood Industry Recovery Program to understand what the on farm climatic impact will be in NSW dairying reg...

Feed costs are the highest operational costs in a dairy business, so it is vital that we manage these well in order to enhance our farm’s profitability. We are currently well into a somewhat m­ild spring here, in most regions of New South Wales, so thought it would be a good opportunity to revisit some earlier podcast episodes on key aspects of profitable pasture management and silage making. The extracts come from a couple of very popular episodes and even though they are a couple of years o...

Late in 2023, a group of dairy farmers from across NSW were interviewed about their experiences, decisions made, support networks and lessons learnt following a number of recent natural disaster events, including the 2021-2022 floods. Tori Alexander (DPIRD) and Nikki Reichelt (University of Melbourne) share some of the findings from these interviews and the key challenges and successes observed. For further information on the interview findings and products take a look at the Storm and...

NSW dairy farmer Brad Winzer shares his journey, moving their well-established family farm from Northern Victoria to the Mid Coast of New South Wales – the reasons why, the differences between farms and the challenges they faced. He outlines the key support people he uses in the business, how he manages and monitors the performance of the business, and the things he focusses on to drive a profitable farm performance. This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit It...

This month’s episode focuses on a project looking at intensive dairy systems in Inland NSW and Northern Victoria over the last 7 years. This has provided the industry with quality foundational information on the profitability, cost structures and risks of these systems. Claire Waterman from Agriculture Victoria and Sheena Carter (NSW DPI) led the project for their respective regions and were recently interviewed for a Rural Bank podcast called “Beyond the Farm Gate”. A big thank you to Rural ...

Feed costs are typically the largest component of operational costs in a dairy business, typically making up 50 – 60% of total costs, depending on feeding system, seasons and conditions. Hence it is vital that what is being fed to the cows results in good milk production. David Barber, DairyNEXT nutritionist joins us this month to discuss the important topic of feed conversion efficiency. He outlines what it is, how to measure it, targets for different types of feeding systems and factors tha...

The use of a structured approach within a NSW dairying business to assist with decision making and risk management, is discussed this month with Kay Smith from Bulahdelah. The Smiths have been operating a family dairy business for over 40 years and 5 years ago, faced with a number of challenges, were weighing up their future options. One of these involved a significant change to the business requiring a lot of capital investment and risk. Kay introduces us to the business and steps us through...

This episode follows on from episode 35 “Successfully navigating farm loans” but focusses specifically on financing for large infrastructure projects such as cow housing facilities. This topic was addressed by my guest, Greg Kuchel, Senior Insights Manager at Rural Bank at the 2nd Raising the Roof conference in Hunter Valley of NSW earlier this year. Greg also touches on the evolving area of farm Carbon Plans and their place in seeking farm finance. Links to useful resources related to this p...

My guest for this episode is Greg Kuchel, Senior Insights Manager at Rural Bank who spoke recently at the “Raising the Roof” conference in Hunter Valley of NSW about farm loans in particular for infrastructure loans related to cow housing facilities. Greg and I had such a good discussion that we have turned this into a two-part series. This first episode covers the general principles and considerations when approaching banks for finance – what you need to do, information you need to provide, ...

What were some of the features of the Top 25% of NSW Dairy Farm Monitor farms in the 2023 financial year? This month’s podcast provides insights into some of the physical and financial metrics associated with their productivity and profitability compared to that of the remaining 75% of farms in the project. Links to useful resources related to this podcast: NSW DFMP Annual Report DairyBase Link to January 2024 podcast: Highs and Lows of Dairy Farm Monitor 2023 This podcast is an...

With a national focus on reducing dairy GHG emission intensity by 30% by 2030, farm greenhouse gas emissions are currently getting a lot of attention. This month we take a look at what has been happening with emissions on NSW dairy farms through the lens of our Dairy Farm Monitor Project. Links to useful resources related to this podcast: NSW DFMP Annual Report (pg. 35-36) Dairy Farm Emissions (Dairy Australia) Dairying for Tomorrow – links to Aust Dairy Carbon Calculator etc. E...

The 2023 financial year saw the highest average profit for the Dairy Farm Monitor participants in the 12 years of the project in NSW. Jess Bell hosts this month’s episode as she teases out what the main drivers were behind this performance with Sheena Carter. It was yet another very challenging year with more floods which had a big impact on the majority of farms across the state. Links to useful resources related to this episode: DFMP Annual Report & Interactive Report DairyBas...

Rearing heifers well is an extremely important aspect of herd management. Selecting the right heifers and ensuring they reach target weights in a specified time period is integral to the future production of your herd. However rearing heifers is a costly exercise so thought and planning is important to ensure you get it right. Carrying too many heifers can be expensive and tie up farm resources. This is particularly so in dry times which we are currently seeing through much of NSW. Toda...

With much of the State of NSW currently experiencing very dry conditions NSW DPI reached out to Tim Ford, Director at Feed Central to provide an update for the industry on the current situation and outlook for fodder supply. Tim presented this information at our recent Dairy Breakfast webinar in conjunction with a presentation from the DPI Climate team on the seasonal conditions and tools available to farmers to help monitor the current conditions and assess forecasts for the period ahead. Fe...

Dairies are complex businesses requiring a very broad range of skills to manage. In today’s environment, good business management skills are more important than ever. This is recognised by industry organisations whose role is to support farmers such as the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Dairy Australia as well as farm consultants who provide individual farm support in various technical areas. Jane Bower, who is an Extension Officer and Engagement Lead with Dairy NSW joins me t...

Recently a farmer reference group was formed in the Mid Coast region of NSW to provide information and guidance on an economic and risk analysis of rearing non-replacement calves. The project was led by Dan Armstrong, Senior Consultant with the RM Consulting Group. In the analysis, Dan and his team used two of the farms as case studies where the goal was to sell the non-replacement calves as dairy beef and investigate whether it would be economically practical to hold onto these c...

Interest in NSW and Australia in intensive dairy systems has grown significantly in the last decade due to many factors. These systems require significant capital investment, so it is important that if this is a system that interests you, you really do your homework. Through DairyUP, a large research, development and extension program in NSW, NSW DPI with joint funding from Dairy Australia, has undertaken an economic and social science project looking at the profitability of intensive f...

Greenhouse gases, carbon emissions, carbon credits, mitigation strategies, emission reduction targets - these are terms that are bandied about regularly in relation to agriculture and dairying. What do they all mean and how do they impact you at a farm level? This month, my colleague Zita Ritchie interviews Blake Cheer a Dairy Development Officer with NSW DPI and Aaron Simmons, a senior research scientist also with the DPI. Blake has a background in Climate & Environmental Management whic...

NSW dairy farmers have faced many extreme weather and climatic challenges in recent years from severe and prolonged drought to bushfires and then widespread flooding. There is no doubt we will continue to see these events and others occur in the future. We need to get better at preparing for, responding to and managing our recovery in these situations. With this in mind, last year a large collaborative research, development and extension program worth $16 million was launched. This 5-ye...

Silage is used to varying degrees and in different ways on NSW and Australian dairy farms, depending on the type of feeding system the farm has. It can be an important component of your herd’s diet and given that producing it comes with additional costs compared to directly grazed pasture, it is important to make sure you do it well to make it economical. My guest this month is Neil Griffiths, a well-known agronomist who worked for many years with the NSW Dept of Primary Industries as a Pastu...

Guests Bill Fulkerson and Ken Bryant speak with Zita Ritchie about a new cultivar of kikuyu which has shown resistance to fungal infections, particularly kikuyu yellows. Key management strategies are also discussed for kikuyu. Bill is a well know dairy researcher with many years of experience, particularly supporting farmers on the Far North Coast of NSW. Ken is a dairy farmer at Bexhill near Lismore and a director of the Norco Board and has been involved in the development of the new cultiva...

It is coming up to a key time of the year for many of our dairy businesses, that being the autumn sowing period. There are many things to consider now to get the best outcome for your pasture production in the winter and spring period ahead. My guest this month is agronomist Josh Hack from Ag Farming Systems. Josh recently spoke at an autumn pasture and seasonal update day held on farm near Taree on the Mid North Coast of NSW which was organised by the Hunter Local Lands Services. In this ses...

Genomics - to some farmers this is an amazing innovation that they have embraced with open arms. For others, it may be a bit of a scientific mystery but according to Rob Cooper, my guest this month it is actually very simple to use and a powerful tool that he is passionate about and would like to see more people in the industry adopt. Rob is well known to many in dairying. He was a successful dairy farmer for many years always open to new ideas, reading and travelling widely to increase his k...

NSW Dairy Farm Monitor results were recently released for the 21/22FY. Analysis of the performance of the 36 farms involved in the project showed a wide range in profitability. All farms experienced above average rainfall for the year - many of them subject to significant flooding and prolonged wet conditions which impacted on performance. However, despite the impact of the incredibly wet year and higher input costs, strong milk prices and livestock trading conditions enabled the second highe...

NSW dairy farmers have been faced with some incredibly challenging seasonal conditions over the last 2 years which has seen one in one-hundred-year floods, repeated floods and prolonged wet conditions on many coastal farms and now our inland farms as well. These conditions are not limited to NSW, most states on the eastern seaboard have been affected by the impact of la Nina. Apart from the immediate and devastating impacts of floods on dairy farms, the flooding in inland grain and hay growin...

This month, Zita Ritchie interviews Paula Gray. Paula is a farmer form Rolland’s Plains on the Mid North Coast of NSW who farms with her husband Mick. The Gray’s have been the NSW case study farm for a project called Dairy Businesses for Future Climates which enables farmers to understand the likely impacts of climate on their farm and help them prepare to better manage the risks or changes. It is the first time this project has been run in NSW with previous work having been done in dairying ...

This month our focus is on technology and my guest is Dr Nicolas Lyons, who is Leader Dairy with the NSW DPI dairy team. Nico has had a career shaped by his involvement with dairy farm technology, both in research and on farm implementation. Technology used on dairy farms and agriculture in general is ever evolving and, if suited to the farm and farmer’s business it can help improve on-farm productivity by making tasks easier and labour more efficient, providing the manager with information t...

Kevin and Brodie Game with their young family, dairy at Bemboka on the far south coast of NSW and have worked hard at achieving their goals over the last 12 years. From small beginnings they have grown into a large and profitable business, with the inevitable ups and downs along the way. They have also just reached the end of their first year as the NSW Focus Farm which has provided them with great support and guidance, so along with Kevin and Brodie, I am joined by Justin Walsh who is facili...

In this episode we take a look at features of the Top 25% of NSW Dairy Farm Monitor Farms in terms of their profitability and productivity over the last 10 years. Funding from the NSW Farm Business Resilience Program enabled this project to happen. It has highlighted key physical and financial traits of the top performers such as herd size, usable land area, production, stocking rate, cow and labour efficiency and cost of production. Farmers and industry are always keen to understand features...

Clear, simple systems to help you manage tasks and people on your farm can help with business efficiency and productivity. An aspect that is commonly spoken about in the dairy industry is the cost and efficiency of labour, not to mention availability, of skilled labour. In NSW labour total costs (paid and owner operator or imputed labour) on average, make up around 25% of farm operating costs according to our NSW DFMP data. This represents a cost of around $2.10/kgMS. In terms of efficiency, ...

It’s the 1st June - an important date in the Australian dairy calendar. Most listeners will know that under the dairy Mandatory Code of Conduct, processors are now required to announce their minimum farm gate milk price today in their milk supply agreements. My guest this episode is Janine Waller, Executive Director of Australian Dairy Products Federation or ADPF - the nations peak body for dairy processors, marketers and traders. Janine has a history spanning more than 20 yrs working in the ...

This month we take a look at business planning – getting clarity on what your business is about, what you are trying to achieve and how you are going to get there. A report by the UK’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) in 2018 identified 8 factors that characterised their top performing farms, one of which is ‘setting goals and budgets’. Their findings showed that (quote) “Farms that write a formal long-term business plan are more profitable than others. Writing your ambit...

Farm profits will be interesting this financial year with strong milk prices and milder seasons being in our favour but then on the other side of the scales we have pricing pressures on key inputs such as fertiliser and wet weather and severe flooding impacting many dairy businesses on the east coast of Australia. Whether you are looking at a profit or a loss for your dairy business, we are now in the final quarter of the financial year and if you don’t already, you should really be looking a...

The potential for reduced yields and fodder quality in corn and sorghum crops is something that now has to be proactively managed by farmers as a result of detection of fall armyworm in Australia. It is a plant pest that first appeared in QLD in February 2020 and also the NT and norther parts of WA. It has subsequently been found throughout the eastern seaboard as far as Tasmania. Being a new pest, we are still learning how to best manage it and this month we hear from Ross Warren, Seni...

Covid-19 continues to impact how we live and operate as individuals, communities and businesses. This month we look at the impact it is having on farm input pricing and the supply chain from the perspective of a rural produce store and a farmer. Troy Higgins, manager at Gloucester Rural Supplies, shares his perspective on how he is managing the challenges of securing supply of products in the year ahead and gives us some insight into current and future pricing and availability of produc...

This year marks the tenth year of the Dairy Farm Monitor Project in NSW and the most profitable we have seen in that period with an average operating profit or Earnings Before Interest and Tax of $2.07/kgMS which translated into a 4.9% RoTA. This project involves a detailed physical and financial analysis of dairying businesses in NSW and saw 41 farms participate this year, the highest number to date. Participating farms are anonymous and receive an individual farm report. The Department of P...

Nitrogen fertiliser is a key input for pasture and fodder production in dairy businesses. In the last eight months we have seen urea prices increase on farm by around 80%. Is it too costly to keep applying with urea prices over $1000 per tonne? This month we are joined by Neil Moss, director and Senior Consultant with Scibus who consults to dairy and beef producers in NSW and interstate. We touch on some of the factors affecting pricing and availability of fertiliser and look at how the...

Commercially operating automatic milking systems (AMS) have been in Australia since 2001. While this system currently makes up less than 1% of the Australian dairy industry, positivity in the industry is currently seeing many farmers consider AMS as part of future investment in their businesses, with a number of farms installing them in the coming 12- 18mths. This month we speaking with two of the “Milking Edge” project team (Juan Gargiulo and Jessica Bell) who have done excellent...

Breeding and reproduction targets in a year-round calving system are the focus this month. Matt Brett from Tocal Dairy joins us again to talk about the breeding program at Tocal, looking at their strategy, the systems they have in place to manage and monitor herd reproductive performance and their use of sexed semen. Dr Luke Ingenhoff, veterinarian from Sydney University visits Tocal on a monthly basis and compiles an invaluable report which is used by the Tocal team to monitor the herd repro...

What is over-capitalisation, what does it look like on a dairy farm and how does it impact your business performance? It is important to be aware of how over-capitalisation can add to your business’s cost of production – adding to both cash and non-cash costs. This month, Jake Musson (Data Analyst – Dairy Australia) describes over-capitalisation in a dairy business, the impact it can have and the risk it can create, particularly in times of volatility, if not managed well. Useful resour...

Growing high quality feed and utilising it in the Spring period is a key opportunity to lower your total feed costs across the year. Agronomists, Josh Hack and Peter Beale talk about the importance of getting your ryegrass management right coming into the Spring period, the importance of nitrogen in growing this feed source and principles of good grazing management to capture your Spring surplus. Nitrogen is a key profit driver for milk production in a pasture based dairy system and even thou...

In this episode, we talk to dairy farmer Justin Walsh about his business structure, resources and goals and how he uses his Dairy Farm Monitor Report to measure and monitor the farm’s annual physical and financial performance. Justin also talks about the importance of getting the daily decisions right on farm by calculating metrics like his margin over supplementary feed cost as ultimately it is good daily decisions that drive a profitable business performance at the end of the year. Justin, ...

Matthew Brett, Manager of Tocal College’s dairy in the Hunter Valley region of NSW, talks about margin over feed costs, nitrogen feriliser use, and monthly milk production among other things. Learn about the dairy, its goals, the role it plays in educating the next generation of people who have a passion for and want to work within the dairy industry and be introduced to the Tocal Monthly Business Report. Tocal College has been training future generations of dairy industry employees every yea...