Tasmanian dairy farmers Brian and Michele Lawrence on their 350 ha farm, ‘Janefield’ at Meander. Ashley Hobbins, RMCG
“It is going to be the first day off I’ve had since the start of calving,” dairy farmer Brian Lawrence says.
“We actually got to see each other today, and that’s really unusual,” his wife Michele Lawrence replied.
Making the dairy category finals of the Australian Farmer of the Year Awards is acknowledgement of a job well done.
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But for the Tasmanian couple, heading to Sydney for the gala awards brings the bonus of a break from their fairly large herd.
The Meander district dairy farmers are just emerging from a long, cold winter, below Tasmania’s snow-capped Western Tiers.
“We’ve calved about 800 and we’ve got a bit over 200 to go,” Mr Lawrence said.
“The beauty now is that most of the heifers are calved and settling in.
“So that side of things is getting easier, even though the herd is growing.”
The Lawrences bought their farm ‘Janefield’ nine years ago and commenced a dairy conversion.
The 350-hectare farm now has a 50-bale rotary, a large calving pad, and a simple effluent system that feeds into ‘fertigation’ and composting set-up.
Mrs Lawrence said her husband loves a challenge, but for every decision the financial and environmental costs and benefits are weighed up.
“I think there’s a very basic underlying principle,” Mrs Lawrence said.
“Farmers care for the environment because when you are doing the right thing, you are making money at the same time.
“That’s a very simplistic way of saying it, but if you’re doing all the right things, if you set yourself up and doing things well, you’re also doing the right thing generally by the environment.”
“We believe the products that we produce are valuable and they create export income, as well as product in the Australian market,” Mr Lawrence said.
“We’d like to be valued in the community for what we do, and that dairy farming be looked on as a worthwhile career and pursuit.
“And that we’re good environmental managers along with that, (our water ways and our plants and animals) that we can work as part of the whole system.”
Source: ABC Rural
