Dairy UP researchers are looking for NSW dairy businesses with good records to join its network of monitored dairy farms.
Program Leader, Professor Yani Garcia, said information collected on the monitored farms would contribute to Dairy UP's two biggest projects, which aim to unlock the potential of kikuyu pastures and unlock the potential of the dairy cow in intense feeding systems.
"We are very keen to build a network of NSW dairy farms to be part of two major projects," Professor Garcia said.
The project, Unlocking the potential of Kikuyu, will explore the application of remote sensing for managing pastures, the genetic diversity of Kikuyu, key antinutritional factors, environmental impacts and the value of real-time predictions of pasture nutritional changes.
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The project, Unlocking the potential of the cow, led by Dr Ian Lean, will help farmers increase productivity and wellbeing in commercial farms through improved nutrition, environmental and health management.
Participating farms will receive regular visits from a project officer, as well as real-farm data insights captured using innovative monitoring tools and support with data management, interpretation and use.
Interested farmers are invited to fill out an expression of interest form at Dairyup.com.au/how
Dairy UP hits the ground running
Dairy Up - the new $16 million research, development and extension program is up and running.
The five-year program which started in July 2021, is structured around 10 projects which collectively address improving on-farm productivity and profitability, de-risking the industry and developing new markets.
Professor Garcia said Dairy Up offered exciting opportunities that had not previously been available.
"A program of this scale is unprecedented in the NSW dairy industry. It gives us a framework for collaboration with numerous industry players, including dairy farmers themselves," he said.
"We are very excited to have a program that covers the whole innovation process - including research, development and extension."
Some projects are in the early stages of research, while others are well-developed extension packages, having been developed by Dairy Australia, with Dairy UP funding enabling delivery in NSW.
Dairy UP's key delivery partners are the University of Sydney's Dairy Research Foundation, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Dairy Australia and Scibus, in collaboration with numerous industry organisations.
For more information, visit dairyup.com.au or email info@dairyup.com.au
