We took over our new farm at Meeniyan last November 2023. Meeniyan is in South Gippsland in Victoria near the coast. On a clear day its possible to make out the hills on Wilson’s Promontory. The farm is a bit over 400 acres and is not quite as hilly as the Ranceby farm. Its well…
Category: Farming
Assessment and plan for a new farm.
This module is designed as a starting point if you are planning to purchase or move to a new farm or are planning to move into horticulture. Its also just as good for taking a new look at an existing farm or horticultural activity. Factors considered will include climate and weather patterns, micro-climate, topography, land…
Complete soil test
Course details: This module is for a complete soil nutrients and physical factors test. It will be carried out by a third party lab. Your mentor will work with you to interpret the results and develop a nutrition plan. Includes assistance with sampling and submitting sample (by negotiation depending on distance). Cost $250. The Module…
Still dairy farming in 2022.
After nearly 7 years we are still dairy farming in South Gippsland. Around our area there have been several farms that have closed. Overall, Australia wide, dairy farms are getting fewer and bigger but according to the latest statistics, total milk production is down. Milk price is rising so that’s a positive. Last year we…
Dairy farming in SW Gippsland – our farm.
Well, much to everyone’s surprise we are still farming after 5 years! Someone said our act of faith in starting a dairy farm at a low time in the industry was like “attempting to jump over 50 cars in a Harley Davidson without any practice”. Its true we bought a going dairy farm but we…
Our dairy farm
We’ve had our dairy farm for just over 2 1/2 years and that’s also as long as we have been dairying! The farm is 250 acres of rolling hills in South West Gippsland. The current herd is 125 milkers, 50 heifers which are up and coming milkers, and 75 calves. Around the farm. This summer…
Low tech filter for farm dam water
Farm dam water is challenging to treat because it typically has high overall bacteria levels, is often discoloured by humic materials, has elevated turbidity and often has elevated levels of fresh organic matter. On our dairy farm we rely on dam water through the dry months. The dam water is pumped to a holding tank…
Our new farm
After a lot of searching we finally found a new home for our calves, 173 acres in Ranceby in South Gippsland. The previous owners Robin and Deb McKinnon were very helpful in showing us their production figures, explaining how the farm worked and then allowing us to move some machinery and cows early.…
How to sow new pasture and forage crops
In our quest to become dairy farmers we have leased a few acres in Gembrook to grow pasture and forage crops for our small herd. The land is run down pasture and I have outlined soil test results in the last few entries. To get this pasture productive again we need to raise the pH,…
Farm soil testing – major nutrients
Up to now we’ve looked at some of the main physical factors in the soil at the Gembrook horse property. Now its time to look at the other main nutrients and the soil’s fertility. Soils have an ability to loosely hold nutrients to prevent leaching and to make them slowly available to plants. This applies…