Sexed semen, permanent pastures, a triple-profit bottom line of planet, profitability and people, sustainability and succession planning are some of the ingredients for the success of the 280-hectare dairy farm run by James and Chris McRae, Raelands, Barrington, NSW.
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Like making a rope, the many intertwined strands make for a more substantial article, and the combination of practices on Raelands creates a profitable business that can care for the planet and provide for the people who run the enterprise.
The use of sexed semen in an artificial breeding program, about one-third of the dairy herd, provides replacement heifers with genetics to provide a medium-sized Holstein cow with great leg and udder conformation that can handle the walking and conditions on Raelands.
The remainder of the females are artificially bred to beef bulls, with an Angus bull providing cover to the breeding program.
Central to the success of the breeding program is the introduction of heat detection collars, provided with funding from a $70,000 grant by Woolworths.
Chris's son, James, 34, has a mobile phone app that shows the individual cow's heat cycle. This information helps co-ordinate the timing of inseminating either sexed or beef-breed semen.
Sires are chosen for a high Balanced Performance Index, and working with a herd classifier, the McRaes use pedigrees and genetics in the selection process.
"The herd classifier helps us with our selection of quality genetics and keeps a watch on the size of the cows," James said.
They run between 90 and 100 cows through the herringbone parlour each day, producing about 7900 litres across a 305-day lactation. Theirs is a closed herd of 200 cattle, including 100 milking cows, additional replacement and sale heifers, and dry females.
Raelands farm has been part of the family since the 1860s, and James became a full-time fifth-generation farmer 10 years ago, working alongside his father as business partners.
He says they are working together to cultivate a more sustainable and innovative farm. They are highly passionate about nurturing the land for a more robust agricultural future.
James said Chris has been farming the property since 1981. These days, they have changed from one person managing the farm to two and a relief milker to ensure appropriate time off to spend with family.
"We've just completed our succession planning process using a farm business consultant," he said.
"The consultant helped us through the succession planning and also keeps an eye on other aspects of the property, providing us with a six-monthly review.
"We are fortunate Dad was willing to have the sometimes uncomfortable conversations in the beginning, form the plan, and make it financially viable for the next generation."
This was with the aim of becoming more progressive and sustainable and to support their two families. Over time, they have made infrastructure upgrades and pasture improvements to increase efficiency and improve sustainability. This has resulted in enhanced yield and quality while also reducing cost.
"The infrastructure upgrades have meant that the running of the farm is more efficient, allowing one of us to take time off or holidays while the other runs the farm, which is essential with a young family.
James went to Charles Sturt University to study for a degree in agricultural business management and has developed a strong interest in environmental, social and governance (ESG) and is further innovating and driving sustainability on the farm. This has become evident through the investment in on-farm improvements.
The McRaes have sectioned off about 60ha of the rougher country of the farm, which runs up to the back of the Bucketts Range. This has been given back to conservation through a Biodiversity Stewardship Agreement with the Biodiversity Conservation Trust.
This has also reaped a benefit from their local government organisation, the MidCoast Council. James says they have negotiated a cut in the rates because of the conservation agreement, which should be a "significant saving".
The Woolworths grant has also allowed them to implement practices such as planting hundreds of trees and installing a dairy solids trap. The solids from the trap are used as fertiliser and to build soil organic matter on the farm.
"With sustainability grants, it can be easier to justify the costs involved with some of the larger ESG improvements," Mr McRae said.
"It has given us the opportunity to target the right areas and take direct sustainability action on our farm."
Other significant infrastructures installed on the farm include a 24 kilowatt solar system, a 250,000-litre header tank and a comprehensive tree-planting program of around 3500 trees in the 10 years since James has returned home.
They use the Australian Dairy Carbon Calculator to calculate the farm's emissions and tillage has been significantly reduced.
"We're aiming for permanent pastures and groundcover, not tilling the soil," James said.
"We're not using as many litres of fuel or man-hours."
Key pasture species are kikuyu, ryegrass, lucerne, clovers and chicory. These can all be sown with the Connor Shea single-disc drill.
"Italian ryes are sown for winter feed. We also use Prairie grass and cocksfoot with lucerne and chicory.
"Chicory, like lucerne is deep-rooted and grows well in the heavier country."
He said the main program used on the farm is Feeding Pastures for Profit, which is designed to help improve the profit of dairy farm businesses by using more home-grown pasture and efficient supplement use.
Another major focus for James on the farm is continuous improvement, which is evaluated using triple-bottom-line management.
"For the past eight years, we have been focusing on the eight wastes of lean management, focusing on waste reduction to improve efficiency.
"Tools in the workshop are displayed on a shadow board with a yellow outline, while tools in the milking parlour have a blue outline. This helps them to quickly ensure everything is in its right spot. Spare parts are identified with a laminated, printed orange tag.
"We can keep track of everything, and it means we don't have to race off to Taree to get a spare part," he said.
"Everything we do is to reduce waste because, with this reduction, a farm becomes more profitable and efficient."
Focusing on their dairy processes, the McRaes have created standard operating procedures for efficient processes with step-by-step photos of the process.
These images are displayed in the milking parlour and can assist relief milkers with a quick refresher so they have a smooth, efficient, and easy shift.
"We are constantly thinking of efficiency as we are only a small farm. When a process can be followed, it makes life so much easier."