Brad and Jenna White are dairy farmers in Riverslea who have bucked the trend of young people leaving the land and proving that dairy farming is a rewarding and profitable business.
They manage four properties, milking a 480-head seasonal-calving, self-replacing, Friesian-cross dairy herd and have made significant investments to improve water efficiency and increase production.
Southern Rural Water’s $159.7 million Macalister Irrigation District 2030 (MID2030) modernisation program provided the White’s with the impetus to make the investment that’s resulted in them adding 40 cows to the herd and enabled them to buy an additional farm in the same system.
We sat down with Brad and Jenna to hear their thoughts on investment in modernisation, managing water responsibly and why they decided to stay in farming. Read what they had to say below.
Are you happy with your investment and has this helped you achieve your goals?
We wanted to expand the business and would have struggled to do so without the improved security around irrigation flows delivered by the MID2030 Stage 1B project.
Works completed by Southern Rural Water in 2020, which included removing dethridge wheels, installing new pipeline, and upgrading and automating existing channels across the Riverslea section, gave us the confidence to build infrastructure and make big changes on-farm for the better.
The increase in land and cow numbers meant irrigation was becoming a burden on our time and energy. Irrigating is now a much simpler task and we have been able to achieve much better water efficiency. The upgrades have allowed us to better drought proof the farm.
A lot of farming families are leaving the land, why are you choosing to stay in the industry?
Succession planning, input costs, milk prices and climate change are some of the key challenges facing farmers. However, we haven’t experienced a better time to be in farming now.
Ten year’s ago, when we took over the farm from Brad’s parents, there was one staff member. We’ve now grown to a team of five.
We’ve spent a lot of time training our team because they really are the backbone of our business. We’ve also invested in systems and technology that allow us to understand and keep our costs under control. These efforts mean we’re in a good position to get away from the farm and enjoy plenty of family time.
How important for the local area is it that water resources are managed more sustainably?
This region of Gippsland wouldn’t survive without the water we’ve got – it’s the lifeblood of farming communities – so we can’t be wasting it through aging infrastructure.
The investment that Southern Rural Water is making in modernising water infrastructure to reduce losses and increase efficiency of water delivery is so important.
The area will benefit hugely from the extra water available, and this work gives us the confidence to invest in ways of doing more with less.
Wet conditions this season mean you’re likely to rely less on irrigated water. Are you still happy with your investment?
It seems like a lot of money when it’s not doing much but agriculture is cyclical. While it’s wet now, we might be in a drought next year and the changes we’ve made will be all worth it when times change.