For fifth-generation dairy farmer Geoff Manning, the quality of his pasture is directly reflected in his milk production.

He runs about 200 milking cows on his Mardella (near Mundijong) property, which on average produce 30kg to 35kg of milk/cow/day.

“Seeing how much milk is in the tank is a direct reflection of how well the pasture was doing — with the cows never averaging under 30kg of milk/cow/day and they tend to range up to 35kg of milk per cow a day,” he said.

Geoff credits Abundant tetraploid annual ryegrass and a tailored fertiliser program for the success of his milking operation, and he is optimistic about the future of the industry on the back of these factors, albeit he would like to see a change to the milk-pricing policies of the major supermarkets.

He said he introduced the Abundant ryegrass variety, from Irwin Hunter, four years ago after seeing how well it had performed on neighbouring properties.

“Over two to three years I could see the results, with Abundant doing so much better than what we were using at the time,” Geoff said.

“It seems to perform in all seasons and soil types, even in poor finishes.”

And now it is others who comment on how good his roadside pasture paddocks performed.

Geoff added that Abundant was competitively priced. He said it was the best performing ryegrass in the area and being very economical — he would only change varieties if something better came on the market.

Each year, he seeds 160ha to 170ha of his 200ha property with Abundant. The Abundant is sown at a rate of 25kg/ha. The mix also contains sub clover and balansa.

His fertiliser regime includes phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen which is first applied in early winter and which can give germination a boost if it has occurred; six weeks after this application nitrogen and potassium are added.

This is followed by an application of sulfur, potassium and nitrogen, which is top-dressed in spring.

Geoff said the fertiliser rates were determined by soil tests and availability of feed but, at present, the need to apply nitrogen was low with plenty of room to increase rates if needed.

“This shows there is still room to improve if we wanted to,” he said.

Geoff said that while others tended to rest paddocks and allow the pasture to re-seed itself, he had found keeping grazing pressure on each paddock while reducing hand-feeding costs and then direct drilling seeding paddocks each year, was a more economical option.

As well as using Abundant ryegrass for grazing, the Mannings use it for silage in the dairy and, season permitting, for hay.

Each year the silage is cut first and if the season continues then the balance is cut for hay.

Geoff said buying silage was not an economical or reliable option, which was why it was their first priority each year; however, extra hay could be brought in if needed.

“For example in 2010, which was a drought year, we didn’t bale any hay, however in the two years since we made 600 rolls of hay each year on top of enough silage for our dairy,” he said.

On average, the Mannings bale 400 to 500 rolls of hay a year and about 1100 silage rolls.

Geoff said for the past two years there had been more feed than he had ever seen on the property.

“Our stocking rates are up and we are able to run more cattle even when rainfall is lighter,” Geoff said.

On top of the 200-cow milking herd, the Mannings also run 300 head of young stock, including steers, which are lot-fed on the property.

Milk from the dairy is all delivered to processor Mundella Foods and used for yoghurt production. The Mannings have supplied milk to Mundella Foods since 2005, delivering their milk themselves. Mundella’s processing plant is only 4km from the farm.

Geoff said being able to deal directly with their local processor had many positives, with the opportunity to talk directly with the boss being one of the biggest advantages.

“We are dealing with local people and can speak directly with them about any problems,” he said.

Geoff said Mundella Foods was also able to provide better prices for their milk.

Looking to the future, Geoff said the biggest hurdle the industry faced was Coles’ $1/litre milk campaign.

“This is a huge problem for the dairy industry. We are all working harder and for longer for less,” he said.

“Woolworths has said openly this price for milk cannot be sustained; all of Coles’ ‘Down Down’ campaigns on food essentials are sending the wrong message to consumers that food should be cheap.

“With increased downward pressure on milk prices a big concern is the need to keep input costs down.”