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A way to stay doing what you love Former dairy farmer Greg Savage has been grazing heifers for Bilyana Grazing on his Timboon property for the past twelve months. He believes grazing heifers has allowed him to stay in the industry he loves as well as lead a less hectic life. Finished milking, but not finished farming Up until last year Greg milked 160 cows on his home property and ran his replacements on a nearby lease block. It was a one man operation that required Greg to be on farm 7 days a week. When he decided to retire from dairying he looked at various options; running per head agistment wouldn’t give him a viable return on his asset and returns from the beef industry at best looked “flukey.” “I didn’t want to tie the money I got paid for my dairy herd in stock that may lose value” commented Greg. After considering all options Greg decided to graze heifers provided to him by Bilyana Grazing. Heifers arrive on Greg’s farm aged between 10 and 15 months where he grows them until 24 months, they then return back to their owner’s property at an average weight of 600kg. Greg is paid on a weight gain basis, “The fact that I get a cheque every eight weeks gives me some certainty in what I’m doing” he said. Bilyana Grazing Located at Brucknell, Bilyana Grazing specialise in growing replacement dairy stock. Heifers are sent to Bilyana shortly after weaning and are returned to their owners just prior to calving. “We have a good team of graziers, ranging from retired dairyfarmers to forward thinking beef farmers who are fed up with poor prices in the yards” said Bilyana Grazing’s Simon Gleeson.
Management Greg didn’t need to alter much of his farm when he changed over to heifer grazing. “These dairy farms are ideal for what we do” Simon said. “They have produced high quality pasture for years so it’s fantastic to utilise this resource after the dairy herd has been sold.” Greg has altered his dairy yard so it feeds into the cattle crush rather than the shed and added a couple of gates. “Before I took on heifers Simon came around and had a look at everything; pasture, water and infrastructure” Greg said. “We don’t expect anyone to make huge changes to their farms, it just needs to be safe and secure and grow good pasture” added Simon. “At the end of the day the most important thing we look at is the person who is going to be running the show, they need to be a good stockperson and a good communicator.” Mobs of heifers are rotated around the farm in a similar fashion to a milking herd and Greg uses hot tapes to utilise his pasture effectively. Silage and hay is still produced in spring and fed back during the summer/autumn period. “We encourage our graziers to conserve as much fodder as possible, after all they do need to put weight on these heifers year round” Simon said. Heifers are weighed at eight week intervals and Greg is paid accordingly. The current rate is $1.50kg, this is reviewed annually. Bilyana Grazing pay all animal health costs, provide bulls for mating, administration costs and assistance with herd husbandry and planning. “It’s up to Greg to provide the pasture and daily observations” said Simon. “I’m still in the dairy industry and get a thrill out of sending these huge, healthy heifers back to their owners” said Greg. “I’ve now got time to do those jobs that have been put off for years.” June 2008 |
