Dairy's new players get their start

It’s not just generational farmers moving in to take over family operations, but also new entrants starting their careers in agriculture.

A new trend has begun with young farmers getting a foot in dairying’s door by leasing land while building up equity in their herd and infrastructure.

Northern Rivers couple Brendan Little and Ailsa Anderson, both in their early 20s, are among the new faces of dairying.

They have leased the farm and invested in its dairy, which had not milked cows for several years.

The pair aim to build equity and savings to buy the property.

They purchased 30 cows two years ago and started milking a herd of 60 mostly Jerseys in winter last year, on 112 hectares at “Craganmore”, Collins Creek, north of Kyogle.

Other young starters have formed sharefarm agreements.

The hotspots for young entrants are coastal NSW, Tasmania and northern Victoria.

According to Dairy Australia’s group manager of industry, people and capability Shane Hellwege, many of the industry’s movers and shakers in those regions are aged in their 20s and early 30s.

“Young people like the look of returns from dairy versus other forms of agriculture, and the industry also compares favourably in terms of lifestyle,” he said.

“Precision farming is also very attractive to young farmers.

“Dairying is seen as a complex and diverse business with plenty of opportunity for those willing and able to take advantage of the technology and work hard.”

Seven young farmers in the Northern Rivers have joined the industry in the past 18 months.

Some worked on dairy farms and want to build toward outright ownership, others have converted from beef or started from scratch.

Chairman of Lismore-based dairy co-operative Norco, Greg McNamara, said free trade agreements and overseas opportunities had boosted the level of confidence in the industry, particularly among younger people who were looking to ensure the returns would be there to provide for buying a farm.

Norco had worked hard to lock in longer term agreements with its customers to allow farmers to look ahead and build businesses, he said.

On the South Coast, Bega Cheese chairman Barry Irvin said in the past few years as much as 10 per cent of the company’s supply had come from new entrants in the industry, and the majority of them were young.

“We have seen some great examples in our areas of successful succession planning – Bega has been proactive with initiatives in this area that are now paying off,” he said.

“Young couples are also moving into dairying for the first time.

“The momentum has been created by early adopters of technology, new equipment and modern management practices and others are watching on and seeing their success and following those models.”

NSW Dairy Connect representative for the Sydney Basin and South Coast, Vanessa Todd, said the social media savvy nature of Gen Y meant the days of dairying being seen as isolated work were gone.

“What’s particularly good to see with this trend is the re-activating of smaller dairy farms,” she said.