Farming Options : Murray Dairy
Farming Options
The Murray Dairy region is one of Australia’s most productive dairy regions.
Farms are smaller, but carry more cows and produce more milk than the national average. The higher productivity of farms in the region is due to the Mediterranean climate, access to a reliable irrigation supply and proximity to fodder and grain growing regions.
The resources available in the region also allow for flexibility in the type of dairy farming system that can be employed. The region supports high input systems to low input systems, pasture based to feedlot systems, seasonal calving to year round calving, all of which have been demonstrated to be successful with the appropriate level of management employed.
Description |
Murray Region |
National |
|---|---|---|
| SIZE | ||
| Number of Cows | 253 | 242 |
| Land Area | 167 ha | 205 ha |
| PRODUCTION | ||
| Milk Volume | 1.48 m litres | 1.21 m litres |
| Milk Solids | 104,000 kg | 85,000 kg |
| IRRIGATION | ||
| % of Farms with Irrigation | 95% | 50% |
| % of Land Irrigated | 72% | 42% |
| SKILLS & PEOPLE | ||
| Specialized Dairys | 78% | 68% |
| Employ External Labour | 50% | 40% |
| GRAIN USEAGE | ||
| Amount | 1.3 t/cow | 1.3 t/cow |
| PRODUCTION SYSTEM | ||
| Split & Batch | 55% | 39% |
| Seasonal | 33% | 34% |
| Year Round | 13% | 7% |
There is a large range of farm sizes within the region that is illustrated in the following graph.
Farms with 200 plus cows represent 40% of the farm numbers but produce greater than 70% of the regions milk. The range of farm sizes provides the opportunity to enter the industry at any level from owner/operator 150 to 200 cow farms to farms milking 1000 cows or more.