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 facil

Features of the Most Profitable NSW Farms in 2023

Feb 29th, 2024 25m 58s

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 profitabilit

Lifting the Lid on NSW GHG Emissions

Jan 31st, 2024 25m 22s

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 throug

Highs and Lows of Dairy Farm Monitor 2023

Dec 31st, 2023 35m 25s

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

Heifer Management in Dry Times

Nov 30th, 2023 31m 9s

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 i

Dry Times – Fodder Supply Outlook

Nov 3rd, 2023 23m 11s

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

Supporting Your Dairy Business

Sep 30th, 2023 30m 2s

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

Economics and Risks of Raising Non-Replacement Calves

Aug 31st, 2023 28m 7s

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

Intensive Dairies - Drivers of Adoption and Profitability

Jul 31st, 2023 45m 47s

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 r

Dairy and Carbon Emissions – What Does it all Mean?

Jun 30th, 2023 34m 52s

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 a

DairyUP – Fast Tracking the NSW Dairy Industry Through RD&E

May 31st, 2023 35m 48s

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 th

The Economics of Silage Making

Apr 30th, 2023 33m 6s

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 additio

Breeding Better Kikuyu with Bill Fulkerson and Ken Bryant

Mar 31st, 2023 37m 9s

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 kn

Five Things to Get Right for Autumn Sowing

Feb 28th, 2023 29m 33s

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

How Can Genomics Benefit Me?

Jan 31st, 2023 39m 46s

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 powerf

A Profitable Year With Challenges

Dec 31st, 2022 24m 11s

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

Managing Well in Wet Conditions

Nov 30th, 2022 36m 7s

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 fa

Real Farmers Managing Climate Risk

Oct 31st, 2022 31m 50s

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

Technology – Hype or Reality?

Sep 30th, 2022 34m 39s

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.Tec

The Game Business Journey

Aug 31st, 2022 49m 48s

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

Profitability Insights From 10 Years of Dairy Farm Monitor in NSW

Jul 31st, 2022 34m 25s

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 happ

Creating a Time and Labour Efficient Farm

Jun 30th, 2022 35m 41s

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 availab

Understanding My Milk Price

May 31st, 2022 25m 53s

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 supp

Setting My Business up for Success

Apr 30th, 2022 25m 13s

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 201

The Art of Tax Planning

Mar 31st, 2022 28m 10s

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 f