Offered Papers Theme B: Grassland and the Environment
Description
Queensland dairy farmers have had to confront in the last 5 years deregulation of the milk pricing system, resulting in a 25% reduction in farm gate price for milk in the year 2000, and drought. Many storage dams are significantly below capacity and regulatory authorities have imposed restrictions on irrigation water allocations. Major changes in farm business strategies were needed to overcome the shortfall in milk income. Production systems had to change to deliver more milk more efficiently and become more profitable. A farmlet study was developed in the sub-tropical dairy region of Queensland to evaluate 5 very different farm systems identified by a group of experts as capable of tripling production whilst achieving a 10% return on assets and 600,000 L/labour unit. This paper compares the water use efficiencies and milk production of these systems.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Balancing Water Use Efficiency and Milk Production in the Sub-Tropics
Queensland dairy farmers have had to confront in the last 5 years deregulation of the milk pricing system, resulting in a 25% reduction in farm gate price for milk in the year 2000, and drought. Many storage dams are significantly below capacity and regulatory authorities have imposed restrictions on irrigation water allocations. Major changes in farm business strategies were needed to overcome the shortfall in milk income. Production systems had to change to deliver more milk more efficiently and become more profitable. A farmlet study was developed in the sub-tropical dairy region of Queensland to evaluate 5 very different farm systems identified by a group of experts as capable of tripling production whilst achieving a 10% return on assets and 600,000 L/labour unit. This paper compares the water use efficiencies and milk production of these systems.
