Bernie Free is President of United Dairyfarmers of Victoria. He was born into a family with deep roots in dairy farming and has an academic background in agricultural science.
Technology and teamwork drive a new era for dairy
Bernie Free
Australia’s dairy heartland is under pressure. Rising costs, shrinking milk pools, and ageing farmers test resilience, but new technology and fair policy could revive the industry.
Agriculture is the backbone of rural Australia. I see it every day—our livelihoods depend on the land, the animals, and being able to feed folks.
Climate change and carbon reduction matter. But the truth is you can’t be green if you're in the red. If farms aren’t profitable, nothing else works.
Farmers here do more with less every year. Less land, fewer inputs, a smaller footprint. That’s something to be proud of. We're doing our bit for the nation’s carbon tally just by running more efficiently.
But we’re at a real crossroads now. Twenty years back, we had close to 8,000 dairy farms. These days, there’s only about 3,900 left and falling every season.
Most of the farms still standing are bigger, using new tech and smarter ways of working just to keep afloat.
Across Australia, we're producing just over eight billion litres of milk this season. That’s everything—milk, cheese, butter. But the milk pool keeps shrinking. Rabobank’s latest forecast says national output is set to drop another 1.7 percent this year.
Fewer cows, expensive feed, dry weather in western Victoria and beyond. Some farms can’t make it work and close their gates for good.
Feed shortages, rising hay prices, and stubborn dry spells hit us hard. When rain does come, it’s patchy. Most paddocks don’t bounce back. Technology and scale have helped, but with costs and climate the way they are, even good operators struggle.
Bigger, more productive farms are now the norm. Smaller ones are doing it tough, not for lack of grit, but because prices don’t meet costs. Feed, power, and fertiliser costs keep climbing, and payouts aren’t close to enough.
Most producers this past season averaged about $9.20 per kilogram of milk solids, but plenty fell short of earning even a fair wage after costs. We’re seeing tough times, especially with patchy rain in Victoria and market uncertainty from overseas.
Young people aren't flocking to dairying either. Older farmers are hanging on, but unless we make things more viable, towns will hollow out. Communities fade if the next generation can’t see a future.
So, what’s going to change it? Technology is crucial, and it’s only just getting started. Years ago, it was tractors and basic computers. Now we’ve got drones in the paddocks, sensors in the dairies, and software helping pick better cows, manage feed, and spot disease early.
Automation isn’t just for the big players. It’s making its way onto family and midsize farms too. The next decade should bring more useful tech: robotics, AI, digital tools.
It’s these tools that give me hope. Technology will help us handle tough seasons, lower risk, and look after our herds. But it has to be a fair go for everyone, or the gap gets wider.
Government needs to play its part. We need proper support. Right now, the market’s tilted towards the supermarkets and processors. They set the price, squeeze the farmer, and still charge top dollar at the shop. That’s not right. If things tip too far, only middlemen win.
Australia’s got a strong ag sector. But if we lose fairness and good prices, more farms will shut, and good local jobs will dry up. Policy should back fair trade, support exports, and help farmers deal with drought and high costs.
Profit has to be our main benchmark. Profit is what lets us invest in tech, creates jobs, and keeps towns going. Last year, farmers earned about $6 billion from milk sales at the farm gate. That’s money paid direct to farms for raw milk—before it gets processed or shipped out. Most of that cash gets spent right in country towns. It keeps local families afloat, pays workers, and helps out the businesses we rely on every day. About a third of our milk went to exports.
Input costs keep climbing. Water, feed, power—all up. Climate risk knocks us back each year. We need to get strategy sorted out quickly.
Here’s what’s needed. Push innovation from lab to paddock.
Support midsize and family farms to scale up, team up, or find their niche. Fix market rules so it’s fair for the farmer. Work to keep trade open and strong. Make policy that helps with water, infrastructure, and climate shocks.
The next 10 or 15 years will decide our future. Do we sharpen up and stay competitive? Or do we fade as towns and farms shut down?
The answer is clear. Productivity, profit, and fairness are what matter. Australia’s farmers feed our people and keep communities alive. Let’s back them with smart policy, fair markets, and new ideas, so country towns stay strong.
NEWS
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Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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