Farm Online

Dairy barn gets tick of approval

Dairy barn gets tick of approval
Dairy barn gets tick of approval

Story in partnership with Entegra.

One Northern Victorian farmer has hinted at installing another dairy barn - only one year after building their first.

Calivil dairy farmer Jade Clymo suggested another housed-cow structure could be on the cards during an Eagle Direct dairy industry Barn and Feedlot Webinar today.

"We are pretty close to making a decision on the second barn soon and it has only been in a year (since we built the first) and that says a lot about what we think of the barn," he said.

"We won't change a lot on the second barn. I guess that highlights the fact that the first few decisions are important."

Jade, farms with his wife Belinda and children Libby and Fynn.

The family built an Entegra dairy barn last year for their 1500 cows.

Since moving their herd into the dairy barn, Jade told the webinar they have witnessed "remarkable linear production improvement" as cows calve into the housed system.

Jade was joined by Agriculture Victoria Dairy and Livestock Development Specialist Scott McDonald for the webinar which provided information and vital tips about the planning, development and approval process for dairy feedlots and barns.

Having completed focus planning with government agencies and the community prior to the construction of his family's dairy barn, Jade told the webinar it was "much better to be on the front foot" providing details and information to relevant agencies and neighbours.

He said it was important to always be "mindful of your neighbours" with this approach to farming continuing well-after the barn's construction.

"We just desludged (the effluent pit) for the first time," Jade said. "The contractors wanted to go 24 hours (a day) on the roads, but one of the neighbours, after the second night, were a bit unhappy. We must be mindful of our neighbours and different operations and how it impacts on them."

Dairy barn gets tick of approval
Dairy barn gets tick of approval

Other tips Jade offered the webinar audience about the planning and development of a dairy barn included:

  • Surround yourself with people who are detail orientated and experts in their field.
  • "Put your faith" in these experts.
  • Make the most of the time it takes to complete the upfront planning and approvals.
  • Taking time to plan at the start ensures you are making the best decisions.

"Trust the process, specialists, and good people around you to get through," he said.

"Use your time wisely for other planning needs, it (the time taken for planning approvals and permits) is not an evil process, it is... a bit of a gift."

Jade started investigating housed-cow dairy farming following years of droughts and research into barns in Australia and America.

He stressed the importance of developing a documented "robust plan" - that included future business goals - for ease of communication, budgeting, and planning.

The webinar covered the relevance of livestock sector guidelines and codes, farm infrastructure positioning, including consideration of property overlays and buffers in sensitive areas, environmental planning, manure systems, preparing an application and much more.

Story in partnership with Entegra.