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Service 1: Supporting productivity growth through improved feedbase management

For more information contact: Phil Shannon (03) 5871 0613 or email: Phil.Shannon@dpi.vic.gov.au

Service summary

This service aims to increase the rate of on-farm adoption of research and development and new technology, and to deliver sustainable improvements in feedbase management.

DPI research underway that contributes to this service:

  • The Dairy Futures CRC is aiming to increase the energy content of pastures.
  • The Flexible Irrigated Forage Systems project is developing guidelines to help irrigation farmers make informed forage selection decisions. Areas of focus include adaptive forages to optimise production, utilisation of feed, and water-use productivity.
  • The Accounting for Nutrients (A4N) on Australian Dairy Farms project is a R&D initiative aiming to develop a nationally agreed framework for nutrient accounting of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, calcium and magnesium for the dairy industry. A4N is a partnership between DPI, Dairy Australia, GippsDairy, West Vic Dairy and Murray Dairy.

DPI provides the following services directly to farmers (retail):

  • Feeding Pastures for Profit: helping dairy farmers make effective grazing/feed management decisions to optimise profit and manage the risks associated with seasonal variation.
  • Research into Practice farmer field days providing farm managers and service providers with the latest research results, and the context to link these with the principles of profitable feedbase management.
  • Support for the development of whole-farm nutrient plans for dairy farmers in the Lang Lang, Tarago, South Gippsland and Goulburn Broken catchment areas.
  • DPI Information Notes for information on feedbase management (see Appendix 1).

DPI provides the following R, D&E information to service providers to build capacity and enhance service delivery (wholesale):

  • The Adaptive Forage Planning project, which helps dairy and cropping farmers to manage the seasonal challenges of climate variability with a focus on forage systems. Electronic updates and news articles help inform farmers and their service providers about climate and market signals to support feed production and procurement decisions.
  • From ex-Target 10 programs – including dairy cow nutrition, soils and fertilisers, and grazing management – delivered as accredited training via the National Centre for Dairy Education (NCDEA) with technical support provided by DPI staff as required.

DPI and Dairy Australia are working together to provide national leadership in extension through working groups on extension capacity and Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely (SMART) design of R, D&E programs.

DPI will refer farmers and service providers to the following resources (signpost):

  • The Pasture Consumption Calculator, which has been developed to provide the Australian dairy industry with a robust, scientifically sound method of calculating on-farm annual pasture removal (tDM/ha).
  • Top Fodder, for supporting the effective conservation of pasture as silage or hay.
  • Greener Pastures, a Western Australian research project exploring the efficient use of nitrogen fertiliser in dairy farming.
  • The Dairy Services Branch for access to many historical resources including Target 10 manuals and field day notes. Information on projects such as Extended Lactation, CowTime and Fertiliser Management can be found on the branch’s website.
  • Victorian guidelines for dairy feedpads and freestalls. These guidelines help farmers understand their statutory or regulatory obligations when exploring how to significantly develop or expand their feedpad or freestall options.
  • FutureDairy, which is a R&D project investigating forage, feeding and technological innovations, including automatic milking systems (AMS).
  • Dairy Australia, for a range of resources relevant to feedbase management, including information on feed purchasing, managing heat stress and feed quality analysis.
  • The Australian Association of Agricultural Consultants and the Australian Veterinary Association maintain registers of private service providers.