Together with my wife Belinda we share-farm with my parents in Westbury, in West Gippsland, with the original part of the farm purchased by my family over 100 years ago. I returned home to the farm in 2009, and commenced share-farming in 2013.
Prior to retuning to the farm, I completed a Veterinary Science degree and worked as a vet in northern Victoria. I combined farm and vet work for a number of years before stepping away from private practice as the time demands of farm management increased with the commencement of share -farming.
We milk 500 cross breed cows on a 153 ha milking platform, supported by around 150 ha of turn out area, all of which is dryland with and average rainfall of 850mm. Our herd is fully seasonal, with calving starting in August. We aim to have the majority of our feed requirements grown on-farm, with only concentrates and a small amount of fodder bought in.
I am active within the dairy industry and our community – being a member of 2 farm discussion groups, a member of the Forage Value Index Technical Advisory Committee, the Emerging Animal Diseases working group, the Dairy Australia farmer ambassador program and our local CFA brigade.