DRIVING down feed costs via permanent pasture matched strategically to the needs of a crossbred herd is the backbone of a plan to make a success of pasture-based dairying in a traditional mixed rations stronghold for first generation farmers Paul and Jo Judge.
Against a backdrop of historically low net cash flow on Queensland dairy farms courtesy of high purchased feed costs, the couple are putting in place a system underpinned by home-grown feed and the production of high-component milk.
The idea is to lift profit margins by focusing on quality, and by lowering costs of production, rather than increasing volumes.
Having managed dairy farms in the Northern Rivers and Southern Highlands under pasture-based systems, Mr Judge made the step into running his own show last year, leasing a 90-hectare former partial mixed rations (PMR) operation at Gowrie Junction, near Toowoomba.
He will milk 140 cows year round off 60 hectares of fertile, black clay soil irrigated flats, with the aim of sending about 1.2 million litres per annum to Brisbane-based processor Parmalat.
Where the industry average feed-related cost for the region is 32 cents a litre, Mr Judge believes he can operate at under 20c/l and already, one year into the project, is sitting at 24c/l.
Extensive paddock improvement was the first step, and ryegrass and oats in winter, followed by summer sorghum, millet and legumes have been planted.
As paddocks are cleaned up, the Judges move to lucerne and fescue, conserving feed in spring.
"The aim is to decrease feed costs with permanent pasture and to minimise the feed gaps in April-May and in October-November," Mr Judge said.
"With a focus on feed budgets, we will use pasture meters and analyse what we are growing to pinpoint areas that aren't doing what they should be and to allocate appropriately to prevent underfeeding or wasting."
Once paddocks are working as planned, grain will need only be fed at 4 to 4.5kg per cow per day.
"Our feed costs per cow will be less than half what they would be under a TMR (total mixed ration) and that provides enormous benefit in terms of profit margin," Mr Judge said.
"High feed costs mean so many dairies here are hanging on by a thread.
"We're meeting our commitments, paying off cows and machinery, by reducing our costs of production.
"It's also a system we can do as a family unit."
A key component is milking a crossbred herd, which currently has some Brown Swiss content but are moving towards being a Jersey-Holstein cross to suit the pasture system.
"The idea is to keep size down but litres and components up and breed a low-maintenance cow," Mr Judge said.
"We have honed in on quality since we arrived.
"We are not pushing out huge litres so we need to keep components and quality up in order to be profitable.
"We want to keep the cell count under 200 to attract the premium pay rate and we have just gone 12 months achieving that.
"A big part of that is running a smaller cow and keeping her under less stress."
Yearly component averages are sitting at 3.6 per cent protein and 4.5pc butterfat.
At the moment, the farm is averaging 4000l per cow per lactation but the Judges believe that can be lifted to 5500l.
"As new milkers come on and we fine tune our calving patterns so we have cows calving every 360 days, that will fall into place," Mr Judge said.
