Myself and partner Erin milk approximately 300 cow Jersey stud cows in Stanhope in northern Victoria.
We have just recently taken over from my parents, Gordon and Lyn, as part of our family succession plan, making us the fourth generation to run the farm since 1919.
We farm 400 acres across 2 properties, hopefully soon to be 700 acres across 3, as a new purchase should take place be December 2024. We milk in a recently updated 16 unit swing over herringbone, with ACR’s, Sabre yield monitors, individual feed system, as well as some cell monitoring. We also use Datamar cow health collars and have a draft gate for heat detection.
As a younger farmer, I have fully embraced technology in the business. Our irrigation is also mostly automated, which really helps to drive efficiency, as well as bringing huge time/labour savings, allowing me to spend more time with my family, which wasn’t necessarily afforded to previous generations.
My ‘spare’ time is spent off farm playing for the local football and cricket club. I’m a life member of both, while the highlight of my week, every week, is taking my young daughter Ophelia to swimming lessons every Thursday morning.