Bright future for WA dairy following NZ dairy study tour

The WA dairy industry has a very bright future, if enthusiasm shown by a group of young WA dairy farmers is anything to go by.

With sponsorship from the WAFarmers Dairy Industry Fund, the group departed Perth on Sunday afternoon for a 10-day trip to New Zealand as part of Dairy Australia’s Young Dairy Network.

The group, supported by the WAFarmers Dairy Industry Fund, DeLaval, PGG Wrightson Seeds, Elders and Harvey Fresh, will visit farms, training centres and dairy facilities to extend their knowledge and learn how some of the best dairy farms in New Zealand came to hold their respected positions.

WAFarmers Chief Executive Officer Stephen Brown said the uptake of positions on the tour was a reflection of the increasing interest in dairy farming as a career by young people.

“WAFarmers has a vested interest in developing the potential of young people within agriculture and helping them to become the farmers of tomorrow, and we’re proud to be supporting this exciting and intensive study tour,” Mr Brown said.

“It can be difficult to attract and retain young people in agriculture, particularly in dairy, so to see this group put their hand up to go and learn more about how things are done elsewhere so they can put their learnings into practice at home is really encouraging.

“With such passionate young people actively looking to expand their knowledge and pass on that information to the rest of the industry, the future is certainly looking bright for the dairy in WA.”

Key learning areas for the trip will include year-round grazing systems, herd status and cross breeding, new technologies, share farming, and pasture developments.

The tour participants currently work on dairy farms and represent every geographical area of the WA dairy industry. There is also one participant who is studying veterinary sciences at Murdoch University and has a keen interest in the dairy industry.

The WAFarmers Dairy Industry Fund receives a royalty from the sale of each two-litre carton of WAFarmersFirst Milk sold through Coles, and these funds can be applied for to assist the greater dairy industry in WA.

Mr Brown said the students would be invited to speak about their learnings at key industry events upon their return to Australia and at industry events throughout 2017.

Young Farmer Tour to NZ - 27 Nov 2016 (2) - Copy

PHOTO: WAFarmers Chief Executive Officer Stephen Brown (back row, left) with the Young Dairy Network New Zealand Study Tour group.

ENDS.

All media requests must be directed to WAFarmers Media and Communications Officer Melanie Dunn on (08) 9486 2100 or [email protected].

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