Tasmanian farmers Cameron and Denise Suna farm on 650 acres in Tasmania's northwest, milking 300 cows with five robots. After investing in the robots, they knew it was make or break to ensure their business was successful for the long term.
As the couple worked hard to ensure their farm was commercially viable, they soon found themselves facing issues with pasture quality and fertility.
Video: Hear from Tasmanian dairy farmers Cameron and Denise Suna on how they partnered with Fonterra to improve their pasture and milk production.
Fonterra Farm Source Area Manager and Paddock Specialist, Sam Flight, worked closely with Cameron and Denise, identifying opportunities to improve pasture quality.
“After carrying out soil tests, I found they weren’t getting the most nutrition out of the feed they were growing, which meant the cows weren’t getting the nutrients they needed,” she said.
“This was impacting milk production per cow, resulting in a higher cost to the business as Cameron and Denise were bringing in bought feed to compensate.”
Sam’s testing was able identity the root cause of the Suna’s paddock fertility issues, and she began work to set them on the path to greener pastures.
Over 18 months, they put a plan in place to rotate paddocks, introduce lime and cut silage early, and now the results speak for themselves.
“We started with regular catch ups on farm, every couple of months. Going out in the paddock, having a look at cows. From there we set up plans around what the paddock rotation will look for certain times of the year,” Sam said.
Their grass is now the lushest it's been, contributing to an increase in milk production, and better still, supporting Cameron and Denise to pay down their investments.
Sam couldn’t be prouder of the impact their partnership has had to the Suna’s operations.
“I’m really proud of what Denise and Cameron have been able to achieve. Not only is their per cow production up, but also in terms of their pasture management, and seeing the grass that they’ve got is incredible,” Sam said.
Denise is equally as happy with their working partnership and is grateful for Sam’s expertise, guidance and problem-solving skills.
“If Sam hadn’t come and said, ‘Denise cut this paddock out, it’s too long for the cows,’ I would have grazed it, the milk would have gone backwards, and then it all just spirals out of control,” she said.
Fonterra Farm Source Area Manager and Paddock Specialist Sam Flight inspects pasture with Denise Suna.
The ongoing partnership is proving successful with Denise and Cameron saying that productivity is the highest it’s been.
"Success to me in the dairy industry is having healthy cows, plenty of food for them, and really looking after them, caring for them, and I guess making money. But really caring for the cows and making sure they’re ok because they are who you work with every day, Denise said.
For the Suna’s, the grass really was greener on the other side.
Partnering with Fonterra
Our business starts with, and relies on, dairy farmers supplying high-quality raw milk to our sites located across Victoria and Tasmania. If you're interested in partnering with Fonterra and learning more about our support for farmers, click here to find out more.