Lack of 'red tape' in Australian agriculture a major draw for Irish farmer

Mr Corr, who first left Ireland almost 15 years ago, said in comparison to his native country, there was a "total lack of regulation" for farmers here.

"It's very easy to set up and farm and farm without red tape and hassle from anyone," he said.

"I'm not saying that we'd be doing things wrong that would be harmful for the environment but there are definitely less hoops to jump through."

The native of County Monaghan in Ireland, prime poultry and pig country, bought 155 hectares in Moyarra 18 months ago to run a dairy herd and leased a further 162 hectares.

Alongside his partner Myrid, he is milking 550 crossbred dairy cows with plans to reach 600 head and produce 200,000 kilograms of milk solids annually by next year.

Mr Corr said in comparison, dairy farmers in Ireland were facing ever-stricter environmental regulations with nitrates derogation changes laid down by the European Union making the sector less attractive there.

Another factor which encouraged the Gippsland farmer to settle in Australia was the greater availability of land.

To achieve the best value for money, he bought marginal land at a cost of $24,700 a hectare, below average for the $29,600 a hectare he said he saw elsewhere in the state.

"For us to be able to buy over 150 hectares and expand with leasing, it wouldn't be possible at home as there's so much land competition," he said.

Mr Corr said due to the Victorian climate, there was less need for high-risk infrastructure investment on dairy farms here.

"You don't have to build infrastructure or housing for animals here," he said, adding that outside of a 30-unit herringbone dairy and calf shed, all that has been required on his new farm is electric fencing and water troughs.

This compares to the high investment by dairy farmers in Ireland in concrete and steel - winter housing, slurry tanks and sheds.

Mr Corr said unlike farming in Ireland, there was greater opportunity for farmers in Australia to make a viable and sustainable income.

He said milk prices for Victorian farmers were "locked in" at the start of the milking season where prices couldn't drop below the set price, but could increase.

Mr Corr said this enabled long-term planning for his farm unlike in Ireland, where milk price was set monthly by processors.

He said dairy farmers here could also change the processors they supplied to each year, unlike in Ireland where longer-term supply contracts were the norm.

However, the Gippsland farmer said on average, he received a milk price of about 77 cents a litre milk solids, and that after conversion to the euro in Ireland, this was about the same as prices there.

Mr Corr's herd calves predominantly in spring (95 per cent) with the remainder dropping calves in March.

However, the long-term plan is to calve cows only in a nine-week season through August and September.

As he is building cow numbers, he has not yet tightened his calving period but plans to hit the solely spring calving target within the next year.

He said it wasn't feasible to cull later-calving cows and buy new heifers when the former were currently trading at $300-$400 a head and the latter would cost him almost $1600 at present.

The herd calves outdoors with artificial insemination then used for the first six weeks of breeding and "clean-up" bulls used for three weeks thereafter.

All cows are bred to Friesian and Jersey sires.

Mr Corr said another advantage Irish farmers who relocated to Australia had was their expertise and education in pasture-based systems.

He said while some Australian farmers were catching on to the benefits of well-managed grazing platforms, others remained focused on grain and feed intake.

The dairy farmer said that, in contrast, his farm was a "very-low input system for dairy in Australia".

With well-managed paddocks, he plans to feed just 800 kilograms of wheat a cow this year, at a cost of $408 a tonne.

He said this was about $100 cheaper than dairy pellets.

On dairy farm labour, Mr Corr said "if there's locals available, we certainly give them a chance".

"But there's a lack of skills here for pasture systems," he said.

"They have no real understanding.

"Some of that is down to the fact that you can buy grain cheap here.

"The next time we're looking for someone full time, we'll probably see if we can pinch them from Ireland.

"They know why you're trying to push for pasture."

The formerly Irish and now Australian farmer said he planned to settle in Gippsland long term and continue striving for further farm improvement.