Friday 13 July 2012
Australia
Top award for dairy farmer
A former Tasmanian cropping farm converted to dairy farming just four years ago has taken the top award in the Australian Dairy Business of the Year competition.The Cressy, Tasmania, farm – Rosemount – owned by Rob and Jo Bradley and share-farmed by Grant and Kim Archer, produced an 18.4 per cent return on capital from an operating profit margin of 41.7pc in the competition year 2010-11.
It produced excellent figures in three key areas – pasture harvest (13.7 tonnes dry matter a hectare), labour efficiency (150 cows per full-time equivalent) and core cost control ($429/cow).
The win topped off a big year for the operation, which won the Tasmanian Dairy Business of the Year award in February.
In the national competition, the business also won the Low Concentrate (System 1) and Tasmanian awards.
The Archers also took home the sharefarmer award and won the Tasmanian Sharefarmer of the Year award in 2011, while the farm they own at Mella on which they have a sharefarmer was runner up in the 2012 Tasmanian awards.
For the Bradleys – who have no background in the dairy industry having been involved in cropping and sheep production – the win vindicated their decision to convert a farm in the middle of the cropping/sheep belt into a dairy farm.
For the Archers, the win provides national recognition of their business excellence, which has seen them grow their net worth from $1 million in 2000 to $7 million this year and produce an average 11pc return on capital in their business in the past decade, despite some tough times in the industry.
Their business is a savvy mix of farm ownership and share-farming partnerships, which has allowed them to continue to grow the business.
Source: farmonline.com.au
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