book.tascountry - Flipbook - Page 10
Feature farm
Green
power
drives
change
A North-West dairy
farmer is adapting his
management practices
to local conditions and
boosting energy
efficiency to ensure
his farm is sustainable
into the future. Karolin
MacGregor reports
10 TASMANIAN COUNTRY Friday, January 29, 2021
F
OR sixth-generation
dairy farmer Rob
Frampton a simple and
sustainable approach is
proving to be a winner.
Mr Frampton farms on the family
property Strathalbyn near Gawler in
the state’s North-West.
While Mr Frampton handles
the day-to-day management of the
undulating 230ha property, his
parents, Lesley and Norman, are also
involved.
Mr Frampton won the Australian
Farmer of the Year award in 2013
and today one of his key priorities is
environmental sustainability.
A big part of that involves keeping
costs of production low and working
with the seasonal variations.
The property runs a milking herd
of 400 crossbred cows. About 75ha
is irrigated using water stored on farm.
To make the most of the peak
pasture growth, Mr Frampton has
adjusted the herd’s calving pattern to
suit the farm.
“Because this property is so hilly,
it can dry off a bit earlier, so the
cows calve in early July to make
the most of the spring flush,” he
said. “We have our production peak
before a lot of other farms because
that’s what works best here.”
While he does cut a small amount
of hay if there is surplus pasture, he
does not make silage, preferring to
utilise the spring grass by grazing.
“Apart from the cost of making
the silage and all the plastic you
need, it’s surprising how much less
I use the tractor too because I don’t
have to feed it out either,” he said.
Pasture management is a big focus
for Mr Frampton.
“We don’t spray for grubs or
anything like that anymore and we
don’t use nitrogen because we’ve
built up a lot of organic matter in the
soil,” he said.
The mixed pastures include quite a
lot of clover and he said grubs were
no longer much of an issue.
Two portable trailers with Rhode
Island Red chickens are moved
around the paddocks following the
cows. He said while the chickens
spread the manure and ate grubs
and other insects, they also helped
fertilise the paddocks and provided
free eggs.
The chicken trailers, which Mr
Frampton built, contain nesting
areas, water and feed.
He calves the cows on the
paddocks furthest away from the
dairy.
“A lot of people like to calve close
to the dairy because it’s easier, but
those paddocks often have higher
nutrient load, which causes issues
with things like milk fever,” he said.