The son of a butcher and nurse, I shared a passion for farming like my grandfather, so I pursued Ag College which opened many doors for me. From beef and grain farming overseas to relief milking, farm hand roles and silage contracting.
In 2021, a great opportunity came about to manage a large-scale family dairy farm in Winnindoo with my wife (Lucy) and three young children, and we now all live on farm in the Macalister Irrigation District.
The milking platform is 300ha, where I manage all pasture, grazing, irrigation and fertilizer applications. The farm is irrigated from either pivots, automated pipe and rise and open channels and our annual rainfall averages only 590ml. Our system is heavily focussed on grazing pasture with a large framed black and white cow.
On farm, we milk 1200 cows twice daily using a 2020 built 60-unit rotary which has features of auto draft, auto teat spray and feed to production. Calving happens in March/ April for 6 weeks and another 9 weeks in August /September with our calves being fed by Lucy and our team.
Off farm, Lucy and I contribute to our local Young Dairy Network meeting bi-monthly and often hosting events around the Maffra district.
Farming aside, we love time with our children who are finding their feet in gymnastics and ballet. Quick getaways to the beach or city as a family to reenergize us from our busy lifestyle.