Environmental and Animal Welfare on Dairy Farms• Industry aims –

Dairy Australia

• Our farm progress on these issues

Dairy Australia – Best Management Practice Guidelines (available from the Dairy Australia Website)• Soils

• Fertilisers

• Effluent

• Irrigation

• Greenhouse gas emissions

• Biodiversity

• Energy

• Water

• Pests & Weeds

• Chemicals

• Farm Waste

Background – Kimbers Dairy, Bega

• 1200 cows milking all year round – 1400 including dry cows

• Milk production 12,200,000 litres

• 8714 litres/cow

• 874,300kg milk solids – 624kg/cow

• Cell count average 180,000

• 2800 ha – 5 farms in 3 locations

Corn Crop

We grow our own fodder requirements but are suffering like everybody else with grain prices

Lucerne Production

Oops !!!!

Bega Environmental Management System (BEMS)Has resulted in:

• Upgrade of 53 effluent reuse systems

• Upgrade of 28 dairy laneways

• Upgrade of 20 stock crossings

• Protection of 405ha of waterways and 73 wetlands with 261km of fencing

• Revegetation of 274 riparian frontages

• Planting of 120ha of shade and shelter belts

Milking herd with unrestrained access to wetland before BEMS

Same wetland now fenced and revegetated after BEMS

Recycling

• Effluent water recycled through a two-pond system

• Dispersed with irrigation across pastures

• Solids from manure separator composted and returned to pastures and crops.

• Dead animal disposal by composting

Fertiliser• Heading down biological path with Dan Huggins of Maxicow Consulting and Hugh McMullan of Animal

Mineral Solutions (AMS)

• No straight urea used on dairy pastures for last five years

• Use an AMS Bio Humic N Liquid fertiliser which contains • 20kg/ha urea• Molasses• Liquid Humic acid• Soluble Boron• 40 different sea minerals and trace elements• A natural soil bio stimulant• Eco activator (A homeopathic remedy from Qantum Agriculture)• Copper, Zinc or Manganese Fulvates (depending on soil tests)• Monopotassium Phosphate (if Potassium and Phosphorus is required)

• Encouraging soil biology

• Encouraging earthworms, dung beetles, compost worms

• Deep ripping with a Yeomans Plow

• Spraying kept to a minimum

Fertiliser Zones & Transects

• Soil Testing• Applying effluent through a turbo

travelling irrigator and a Williams effluent irrigator and through bike shift and fixed sprinkler irrigation systems

• Applying compost to pastures and crops

• Sulphates rather than muriates• Humates, lime and gypsum• Looking into use of bio solids

Nutrient Management Plan

• Working with Dr Cameron Gourley, Senior Research Scientist, Soils & Land Management, Agriculture Victoria based at Ellinbank

• Developing a whole farm nutrient management plan

• Calculating all nutrient inputs to the farm and leaving the farm to give a farm nutrient balance and nutrient use efficiency measures

• It is these measures that indicate a farm’s environmental impact

• The principal offending nutrients are nitrogen and phosphorus

Feed

Fertilizer

Animals

Bedding

N fixation

Precipitation

Crops Silage, hay

Animals

Manure

Milk

Irrigation

Dairy cows

ManurePasture / crops

SoilManure

INPUTS OUTPUTS

Seed

Quantifying Nutrient efficiency and balance in dairy production

➢ Whole-farm nutrient budget

➢ Importance of Nutrient flows and transformations

Nutrient Distribution within a Dairy Farm

• The cycle is from cow to manure to soil to pasture and crop then back through the cow

• Between paddocks on the farm there is a significant transfer of nutrients from the more distant silage cutting areas to the most intensively used paddocks close to the dairy. Commonly reflected in soil tests as higher potassium and phosphorus levels in these close paddocks.

• It is critical to redistribute the excess nutrients from the close areas to the outer areas of the farm

• Achieving nutrient balance is the major limiting factor to pasture and crop optimisation

Nutrient Calculations for Kimbers Dairy

What does this mean?

• Nutrient balance - The net result of inputs less outputs

• Increasing intensification of farms generally sees a rise in the net nutrient balance of dairy farms

Nutrient Calculations for Kimbers Dairy (Cont.)

• Ours is a good example of a higher net balance in kgs N/ha but when expressed as nitrogen per milk litres per ha it is in the lower group.

• Nutrient use efficiency reflects how efficiently a farm turns nutrients into production such as milk

• We are in the top group of sampled farms for Nitrogen Use Efficiency (due to less artificial fertilisers brought in).

Take Home Messages

• Nutrients does not refer to fertiliser alone

• Recognise the other nutrient sources coming onto your farm e.g brought in feed

• Allow for these prior to estimating fertiliser requirements

• Recycle and redistribute your available nutrients across your farm.

Average Nutrient Content of Effluent and Compost Samples

Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium Sulphur

Effluent per megalitre 192kg 47kg 358kg 23kg

Per application of 1 megalitre over 12ha (8mm depth)

16kg/ha 4kg/ha 30kg/ha 2kg/ha

Compost per tonne 9.3kg 2.4kg 5kg 2kg

Per application of 20 cubic metres (8.8 tonne fresh or 5 t.d.m)

46kg 12kg 25kg 10kg

Equivalent Fertiliser Value

Effluent $1200/megalitre or Per application$100/ha

Compost $42 d.m. tonne or Per application $210/ha

* Compost also adds trace elements and soil organic matter

Dairy Effluent: nutrient distribution

Using the test results

• Total potassium - no more than 60kg /ha in 1 application (animal health issues if excess potassium) and no more than 120 kg/ha/year

• Liquid effluent application rates - no more than 60- 80 kg N/ha, sludge can be higher due to slow release of organic N in sludge

• Apply when risk runoff low

• Soil test areas and incorporate into nutrient budget

• Avoid grazing for 3 weeks after application

Animal Welfare

Dairy Australia – Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Cattle(available on the Dairy Australia Website)

• Awareness of industry standards

• Herd nutrition programs and monitoring

• Cow management and welfare, including tail docking, calving induction, lameness, down cows, and heat stress mitigation

• Calf management including colostrum feeding, disbudding, transport, and euthanasia

• Disease risk management and testing of introduced stock.

Herd Welfare

• Comfortable contented cows

• Shows in their milk production and herd health

• Herd nutrition – we use a partial mixed ration system to keep the cows full, feeding on the feed pad and grazing as well.

• Two herds – a fresh herd getting first access to both feed pad and pasture with the second herd (later lactation cows) following.

• Nutritionist Dan Huggins develops the feed ration

• Try to minimise heat stress (see photo), distance walked and time on concrete

Herd Welfare (continued)• Fortnightly veterinary visits for

preg testing, non cycling cows and any health problems

• No tail docking

• No induction

• Lameness – staff trained by Karl Burgi from USA, tipping foot table.

• Closed herd – no bought in cows for years

Calf Welfare

• Colostrum testing and feeding

• Blood testing to check transfer of immunity

• Vets and anaesthetic used for disbudding horns, ear tagging etc and first vaccinations

• Large number of heifers reared which gives the option of culling problem cows keeping the herd young and healthy and selling excess heifers

Bull Calves

• Stopped sending bull calves away at 7 days of age on the calf run truck

• Now reared to 7-8 months of age under strictly controlled conditions to supply a niche market for Rose Veal

• New Ausmeat category for Rose Veal

• RSPCA has developed Approved Farming Scheme Standards for Rose Veal – we are progressing towards RSPCA accreditation

• 6 monthly or annual audits are required

• Two new purpose built calf sheds

Rose Veal Manuals

• Need to comply with procedures manuals covering:• Staff training and competency• Health requirements• Food safety requirements• Record keeping and traceability• Biosecurity• Supply and placement of calves• Feed and water• Environment and housing• Outdoor/paddock areas• Stocking densities• Animal handling, husbandry and management• Loading and transport• Slaughter requirements• Meat colour requirements

• Returns are under pressure due to the drought, large numbers of feedlot cattle and the high cost of grain inputs.

Other Bull Calf Options for Dairy Farmers

• The YS beef category will take calves older than 8 months at heavier weights with a little more leeway on meat colour.

• We are exploring this market for our heavier out-of-specification Rose Veal calves at present.

• Dairy Beef Alliance (DBA)– Wagyu beef options are available with good prices ($325 including GST) for 7 day old bull and heifer calves out of Holstein cows – mostly in Northern Victoria and some in Northern NSW. These can be grown on further as the backgrounding stage before entering DBA feedlots for the finishing stage. DBA is also buying weaned Holstein Friesian and Jersey/HF cross bull calves 100- 120kg to grain feed as steers and grow through to 400-480kg liveweight. Current prices are down reflecting the high cost of grain feeding at the moment.

Other Bull Calf Options for Dairy Farmers (Continued)• Dairy bull calves are not favoured by the meat processors who discount

them and do not treat them as normal beef – There are also abattoir meat chain inefficiencies in handling stock at 400kg rather than 600kg. Their preference is for steers rather than bulls and at finished weights.

• The next option is to produce less of the dairy bull calves.

• The advent of sexed dairy semen has opened up the option of only joining a percentage of your best cows and also your replacement heifers (which should be your highest genetic merit animals) to sexed semen.

• The balance of the herd can now be joined to beef bulls or beef semen for which there is a more available market to either sell into or to rear and to finish. In New Zealand the recommendation is to not use conventional beef bulls but to choose proven beef semen to produce a better quality calf.

Other Bull Calf Options for Dairy Farmers (Continued)• Farmers will have their own preference for different beef breeds but one

option has recently been developed by the Angus Society.Angus InFocus Program• This has been proven in the USA • From millions of records in the Angus database bulls have been selected on

the following basis:• Specifically suitable for crossing over dairy cows• High Fertility (a mix of three different bulls in the one AI straw)• Ease of calving• Low birthweight• Equivalent or shorter gestation• High growth rate

Other Bull Calf Options for Dairy Farmers (Continued)• The first calves in their Australian trials are now hitting the ground

and will be monitored from birth to slaughter to measure and compare their progress.

• USA trials have shown these Angus from Holstein cows have achieved similar growth rates and feed conversion efficiencies to conventional beef breeds.

Summary• It appears that what dairy farmers should do is to:

• Analyse the herd data they have readily available on both type and production

• Look at each of their cows’ features and faults, its breeding and its history• Categorise their cows into high breeding worth cows or lower end cows• They may have several groups –

• The top group suitable for high merit sexed dairy semen• The second group of mid range cows may suit conventional dairy semen• Ensure enough heifer calves for dairy herd replacement each year• The reduced number of dairy bull calves could be;

• Sold as 7-10 day old to rearers or processors• Reared to weaning stage as steers• Reared to finished stage as steers/bullocks

• Lower end group(s) could then be joined to high genetic merit beef (or wagyu) semen.

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