Max Bond is a young dairy farmer at Coorimungle in West Vic and a member of the Young Dairy Network.
Young farmer Max Bond is focusing on growing the dairy business he runs alongside his parents Adrian and Vickie at Coorimungle.
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The family currently milks 500 split calving Holsteins (autumn and winter) across 450 hectares of dryland country.
Max has always wanted to step into the farming business, and after attending Longerenong College and achieving an advanced diploma of agriculture and a diploma in agronomy, he had the tools.
“The diplomas have been helpful for my understanding of business along with agronomy skills for fertiliser application and weed and pasture management,” Max said.
Max has always enjoyed working on the farm and used to help out before and after school.
“I love the wide range of tasks during the day, and I would describe myself as a cow man first. I am particularly interested in production, closely followed by pasture management,” Max said.
Checking out cows and farm systems was part of the tour.
Max said the family was in the process of growth across all aspects of their operation, which has included increasing herd numbers from 350, purchasing neighbouring land and investing in the building of a 66-unit rotary dairy.
Attendees of the YDN farm tour to South Australia.
Max returned to the farm permanently in 2021 and has also purchased his own property.
He has been involved in the WestVic Young Dairy Network and a couple of years ago joined the leadership team.
“I didn’t really know what to expect when I joined up, but I have really enjoyed creating social events for young farmers – whether that be just a night at the pub with a guest speaker, a farm walk or even a trip away.
“It is important to have some time away from the farm, and the YDN has helped expand my knowledge and make many new connections.”
He said the WestVic YDN was well attended, with anywhere from 30 to 50 young farmers participating.
Recently, around 20 young farmers opted to take some time out and travel across to South Australia to look at different farming operations and systems.
Max said over four days they visited seven farms.
“My take away from the trip was really about business structure and how other farmers incorporate partnerships, whether that’s with family members or outside entities,” Max said.
“It was really interesting to see how different that could be and I guess that is one of the major things with farming, every farm is different, and no two are ever the same.”
He said farmers were always great at sharing information and experiences and that was the great thing about being involved with the YDN.
He said the networking and support was pivotal and he urged any young farmers involved in the industry to jump on board their local YDN.
The network is a project of Dairy Australia working across the regions to support local networks of young dairy farmers and employees.
Each dairy region provides their own support and organised activities is all about backing the next generation of young people in dairy who will advance the industry with innovation, enthusiasm and vision.
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