Simon Scott says a flexible approach to milking has been the best way to counter the tough conditions in south-west Victoria.
Barongarook West farmer Simon Scott is finding flexibility is the key to survival in a tough season.
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Over the past three years, Simon has dabbled in flexible milking times, returned to conventional twice-a-day milking and is now mixing it up again.
Starting in 2022, Simon spent the whole season milking three times in two days. Over 2024, he reverted to twice-a-day, because of the tough season before again opting for three-in-two early this year.
Now as Simon, along with the rest of south-west Victoria, endures one of the worst seasons in memory, he has been forced back to the more conventional twice-a-day milking.
“We had been three-in-two from the end of January to late April, but we’ve gone back to twice-a-day for the foreseeable future, just because we’ve got no grass,” he said.
“I’ve got to get grain into them to keep up production. I’d say we’ll have to keep up twice-a-day milking through to spring.
“There’s just not enough feed.”
Simon said the flexible approach had been the best way to counter the tough conditions.
“We’re flexible — we’ll do three-in-two when we can, but the season is just not playing ball. It looks like it’s going to get pretty bad.
“We’ll go back to three-in-two when the conditions are right.”
His three-in-two system involves milking at 6.30am every morning and around 3.30pm-4pm every second day.
The flexible milking routine is part of Simon Scott’s shift to regenerative and organic farming. He is pictured in better times in 2023.
Photo by
Rick Bayne
“We dropped seven to eight per cent of milk solids’ production for the first year we did it, but that was balanced by savings in electricity, less wear and tear on the tracks and the cows, and you also have to value your time.
“There’s no doubt the cows were in better condition with three-in-two.
“It all adds up.”
The flexible milking routine is part of Simon’s shift to regenerative and organic farming, which also includes a move to multispecies pastures and a focus on flexible management, grazing and stocking.
Despite the region’s prolonged dry spell, Simon’s farm still has a green pick, and he said a lot of multispecies pastures were just waiting to take off with some rain.
“The older ryegrass pastures have dried off a lot more, but the multispecies, especially those planted in the past two or three years, are still hanging on. The plants are still alive.”
DemoDAIRY Foundation has hosted forums and on-farm field days about flexible milking options to expose Western District farmers to a different approach to milking that has been shown to reduce labour inputs, which is a big ongoing issue for dairy farmers, while not significantly impacting on production.
Any farmers interested in learning more about three-in-two farming can contact DemoDAIRY Foundation https://www.demodairy.com.au or contact DDF secretary Ian Teese on 0427 358 987 or itag@bigpond.com
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