Farm Manager Report 

Wet Conditions

In July the farm has experienced another 195mls of rain adding to what must be considered a very wet winter. Paddocks are under water and with the cold conditions pasture growth has slowed down. This is placing a strain on available feed for sheep and cattle,  so supplementary feeding of hay and silage has been necessary to extend pasture grazing periods. Some fertiliser applications have had to be postponed due to the ground conditions.

Dairy Calf Sales

I have always been reluctant to feed expensive calf pellets to dairy steers and hold them over until they reach an adequate weight for sale. However,  the demand in the market for these calves has been extreme, and I have to admit the efforts to get them into good condition has paid off. Sales resulted of 26 Friesian steers ranging from 120- 150 kg averaging $1,050.00 each. We have now sold off all the Friesian steers which lowers the number of calves requiring pellets and living in very wet conditions. A great result all round.

Dairy Dilemma During Term Break

As we know with such a technical and unique robotic milking system, when something goes wrong it can leave the College very vulnerable. This is precisely what happened during the recent holiday period. Unfortunately, we experienced two separate break downs which required three days to correct. Firstly, a faulty wire connection was to blame for shutting down one robot causing a backlog of cows being milked. This wire was very hard to locate and technicians and electricians worked tirelessly to identify and rectify the problem. Secondly, the Telstra internet supply was affected by the recent flooding rains. This disabled the alarm systems that are sent to staff mobile phones (day and night), affecting the on-call alerts. As a result, farm staff physically came into work during the night at three hour intervals and inspected the robots and cow traffic entering and exiting the machines. 

I would like to especially thank Mr Gary Jones and Mr Jack Marney for the huge contribution they made to ensure livestock were milked and their welfare was cared for. Mr Terry DeVos, while trying to have some time off during the first week of the holidays, also played a huge role in assisting with all of the challenges. Thank you very much.

Farm Developments

In coming weeks a concrete slab will be poured to accommodate a new feed silo for the dairy calf pellets. It will be positioned adjacent to the existing silo and will enable the Milne trucks to unload different products at the one location. It will also mean we can keep the dairy pellets central to the dairy itself.  A fifteen tonne elevated silo with an offset cone and delivery chute will be supplied by DE Engineering for a delivered cost of $11,000.00 Inc. 

The beef and sheep quad bike will be replaced this month with a FWD model. The current quad is still in reasonable condition and will be traded for the new side by side mule. This purchase is subject to receiving funding from the Agricultural Education Machinery Trust. 

Farm staff, with the help of students, have built and erected three horse shelters using the colourbond roofing removed from the old piggery. Costs of the shelters have been reduced significantly.

Food Production Audit

In September,  the Department of Health WA will conduct a food production safety audit on the dairy and the pasteurising process. This will identify regulatory safety requirements, and no doubt some recommendations for improvement. It has already been identified that the cool room in our pasteurising room needs to be replaced with a walk through change room area, where staff and students can keep PPE and coverall clothing. 

It is also inevitable that we will need to transport the milk from the dairy to the College kitchen in an insulated container/mobile coolroom.  In coming weeks farm staff will remove the existing coolroom, mount it onto an 8x5 galvanised trailer and use it to transport and store milk. This will also give us an emergency coolroom for horticulture and abattoir use.

Upcoming Events

Beverley Agricultural Show 21st August

Katanning Ram Day 19th August

Perth Royal Show 25th September.