Tassie Dairy News. There are two aspects to a good financial outcome when concentrates are fed:

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1 Tassie Dairy News w w w. u t a s. ed u. a u / t i a/ d ai r y Se p t e m be r Inside the newsletter 03 Research into virtual herding technology The in calf challenge 04 How profitable is nitrogen application in spring? 06 DairyTas update TIA Dairy Research Facility update 07 RMS Focus farm - Crowden Focus farm update - Peter and Jo Jones What are the farming gold medallists doing in spring? 08 Upcoming events John Mulvany, OMJ Consulting Milk price fluctuations create havoc but a poor spring will always devastate an already fragile budget. Wise heads know to really drive spring, even though it s a time of year when there s plenty of grass per cow. There are two aspects of spring that always get the most airplay: supplements and fodder. There are two aspects to a good financial outcome when concentrates are fed:»» Supplements At recent Field Days and Tactics For Tight Times meetings there has been plenty of expert opinion as to how much supplement should or should not be fed, and the most profitable option. The following are facts about cows, pastures and supplements in spring, upon which nearly all advisors interested in profit would agree: Feeding grain or pellets (concentrates) in spring is a discretionary or marginal decision used in addition to feeding a lot of pasture. At less than 2 kg) are achieved by fast rotations, low stock densities, and short, high quality feed which enables large intakes. The down side of this is that the farm will grow less feed at a time of year when there is potential to grow a lot of feed. There s a big difference in total growth between a 16 day rotation and a 22 day rotation. other times of the year it is not discretionary if you want to keep cows milking. In other words, in spring the cows do not have to be fed supplement.»» The physical situation leaving a low enough pasture residual to know that you are getting a response to the last kilogram of supplement. Longer rotations in spring mean more growth, but there is the risk of losing quality, causing reduced intake and production. Trying to have a longer rotation and low or no concentrates in the diet introduces even more risk and therefore needs closer monitoring. Cows do not have to peak high to achieve a high production during the lactation. The evidence of this is that many autumn calved herds peak at 2.0 kg of milk solids and achieve above 525 kg of milk solids. The price of your milk in cents per kilogram relative to the concentrate price in $ per tonne (this ratio needs to be above 1.5 to feel comfortable) The more production per cow is chased, the more doubtful is a margin in the last kilogram of concentrate at the current milk and supplement prices. Higher per cow production on low levels of concentrates (say Tassie Dairy News is published monthly by the TIA Dairy Centre as part of the Dairy On PAR project, which is jointly funded by Dairy Australia and TIA.

2 The better pastures are grazed and controlled in spring then the more vegetative tillers are produced to go into next autumn. In regard to pasture management, spring is harder to manage than any other time of the year. Things change quickly; hence the finger on the pulse, a few figures to give you confidence (growth rate, leaf emergence rate, consumption rate and net production), and a set of very good eyeballs make a huge difference to the spring bottom line and the rest of the year. Having now listed a few facts regarding supplements in spring, the table below presents some strategies being used by several highly profitable farmers who have consistently made a profit every year for the past 15 years - even in lower milk price type years. They are not chest puffers ; they just do what they do very well. What is common across all of these farms? They consume well above average levels of pasture each year. They are all feeding a bit less than normal but nothing too dramatic because their ratios are generally good. Their rotation length and grazing height/stage is aimed to absolutely maximise spring growth. All will be watching residuals to maintain quality next rotation and using either supplements or reduced per cow production to achieve the desired residual. Additives have been trimmed or deleted, especially on lower grain levels. All are using significant rates of nitrogen in spring. None altered their stocking rate compared to last year, because they historically generate high profit and there are still unknowns like grain price and step-ups. Fodder We know that home grown silage can vary from $150-$300 per tonne dry matter, depending upon how it s done and who s doing the calculations, but at this stage no one has made the comment that purchased fodder will be so cheap that I m not chasing any fodder. Cash is tight, yet most people are chasing fodder either on a turnout block or the milking area or both. As the farmers in the table have indicated, nitrogen will be applied regularly to the milking area in spring, at rates between kg N/ha. Any turn out blocks which have not had nitrogen for a while will need higher rates of up to 60 kg/ha of nitrogen. The hunt is definitely on! A blend that proved useful on turnout blocks in previous low price years is 60% pasture booster and 40% urea at 165 kg/ha. Of the farms listed in the table, three are hunting silage on the milking area, but all three made the comment that they won t chase high yields and risk a slow return by the paddock to the grazing rotation. Silage will simply be a skipped paddock beyond milker feed, quickly conserved and slid back into rotation. The rumours and signs are good for cheaper high quality fodder this year, but that s what they are rumours until the fodder is ordered and landed. The home grown stuff gives you independence and security not bad in such volatile times. Table 1. "Gold Medal" farmers approaching spring Calving pattern Milking Area Stocking Rate 2 Tassie Dairy News Farm 1 Farm 2 Farm 3 Farm 4 Farm 5 Farm 6 Farm7 July July Split calving Mar/Aug Split calving Mar/Jul April (650mm rainfall) April 1.6 (650 mm rainfall) April 1.4 (650 mm rainfall) Historic Per Cow Production 551 kg MS 460 kg MS 565 kg MS 567 kg MS 580 kg MS 520 kg MS 580 kg MS Price of Milk in Spring (c/kg MS) Cost of Concentrate ($/T) (inc. additives, protein) Ratio (c/kg MS: $/T) Planned conc. feeding level Aut cows 5 kg; 5 kg 1 kg Spr cows 6 kg 3 4 kg 4.5 kg 4 kg Min. 6 kg Comments by Farmers Additive will cease in Oct.; Won t go below 20 day rotation or 90 cows/ ha/24 hrs; 1 kg N/ha/day through spring Won t go below 22 day rotation with high stock density. No added protein. 46 kg N/ha will be applied on milking area after each grazing. 60 kg N/ha No additives. Will test response to grain to decide level. Longer rotations (closer to 3 leaf) to help buffer and grow more feed. 90 on silage paddocks. kg urea/ha after each rotation. Rocket fuel and additives are not and will not be part of spring strategy. Net litres calculated weekly. Spring rotation no less than 25 days (2.5 leaves); 100 cows/ ha/24 hrs; 100 kg/ha urea on every rotation. Increased chicory sowing this yr. 90 kg N/ha applied in early spring, reduced to 65 kg/ha as day length increases and rotation speeds up. Slow rotation early then faster as seed head emergence occurs. Focus is on growing grass, nutrition and cow health. Minimise grain input over spring while grass available while not dropping production too much. Apply 46 kg N/ha on milking area in spring. Longer feed and longer rounds, quicker with surplus but no quicker than 25 days. Will use urea at higher rate than normal at 130 kg/ha; no blends this year. Try to manage spring as normal getting over paddocks fairly quickly with surplus locked as silage. Planning large spring/summer cropping program to fill possible gap.

3 Research into virtual herding technology The Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) is a major partner in a new national multi-million dollar project that will optimise and evaluate the use of virtual herding technology. The project, which will run for four years, has received $2.6 million from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources as part of its Rural Research and Development for Profit program. TIA Dairy Centre Leader, Dr Richard Rawnsley says the project will focus on assessing the on-farm application of virtual fencing and herding technology. This technology could improve productivity and profitability gains for farmers by changing pasture management and the way that livestock are herded and managed, Dr Rawnsley said. Virtual herding technology involves each cow wearing a wireless device that creates an audible alarm as a cue for the animal to avoid a subsequent mild electric shock (less than an electric fence) as they approach a virtual fence. It has the potential to allow farmers to manage both individual and small groups of animals within a herd better and could contribute to a reduction in labour required to move and draft cattle. It would not replace all fencing, but may be a viable alternative to temporary fencing for strip grazing and enable farmers to remotely and instantly move the fence to give the cows more feed. We want to look at the application of this technology and determine the best ways to implement it and extend the benefits across the major livestock industries, Dr Rawnsley said. Along with the technology development and application there is a need to understand the management and ethical challenges associated with the adoption of virtual fencing technology on farm. This includes cost benefit analysis and employee training as well as understanding any social barriers to its adoption. The project team will develop guidelines and recommendations on how to apply virtual fencing technology on farm in order to optimise value and minimise animal welfare implications. By keeping animals out of sensitive areas and managing overgrazing it can also help to improve environmental and animal welfare outcomes. The project, which is valued at over $5 million, is a partnership between CSIRO, the University of Sydney, University of New England, the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture and The University of Melbourne, with collaboration from the dairy, beef, wool industries and their respective RDC s; Dairy Australia, Meat and Livestock Australia, Australian Wool Innovation and Australian Pork Limited. The in calf challenge As calving winds down, the focus will move quickly onto mating. Remember there are only 83 days from planned start of calving (PSC) to planned start of mating (PSM) and we need to make use of every one of them. Heifer Mating Your yearlings are the future of your herd and are often your highest genetic merit animals. Mating them at the right time with the right bull is important to ensure they calve early and easily. Ensure heifers meet target liveweights studies show heifers which achieve liveweight targets at mating get in calf faster, produce more milk, and are more likely to get in calf early in the following season. 1. Mate heifers 7-10 days ahead of the main herd Mating heifers ahead of the herd ensures that the extra time they take to resume cycling after calving is less likely to affect their future reproductive performance once in the milking herd. 2. If doing AB (Artificial Breeding), select easy-calving bulls A sire s calving difficulty breeding value (BV) predicts the percentage of assisted calving s expected when mated to yearlings. The lower the BV the less assistance normally required. For more information talk to your breeding company. 3. If doing AB, contact the relevant people It s important to communicate early with vets, AB techs and AB companies to ensure everything is organised, especially for synchronies; don t let poor planning compromise your results. 4. Select well grown, healthy bulls for natural mating Make sure bulls are well grown, sound, vaccinated for Leptosporosis and are TB and BVD free. Observe the bulls working and promptly replace any that are not performing. 5. Make sure you have enough bull power 1 bull per 30 heifers is the recommendation (with a minimum of two bulls at any given time). Special attention needs to be taken if you intend to synchronise heifers for AB as the demand on bull power significantly increases when and if they return to heat. Consider removing the bulls and reintroducing AB days after the synchrony mating date. Tassie Dairy News 3

4 How profitable is nitrogen application in spring? As we move closer to the middle of spring farmers will often ask, is it economical to boost silage production by applying nitrogen (N) to actively growing pasture or buy an alternative supplement? Pasture growth rates in mid spring generally exceed pasture demand. A cost effective option is to conserve this excess as silage. Last season's dry spring showed that in some years we need to give pasture an extra boost to produce enough to conserve. Pasture conservation last year was around 50% less than in previous seasons and forage prices increased significantly as a result. This makes a good case for increasing pasture yields for silage production with timely applications of N. Symon Jones, TIA Dairy Centre What is the most cost effective rate of Nitrogen? While response rates are higher in Response rates to nitrogen (extra kg DM grown per unit of N applied) are highest during spring. Response rates of at least 10 to 1 can be expected by applying 40 to 60 kgn/ha. At a 10 to 1 response rate, 1 kg of N will provide an extra 10 kg of pasture DM so for 40 kg N/ha applied an additional 400kg DM/ha can be grown. Over 10 ha this would equate to an additional 4 t DM (Figure 1). nitrogen is used as a management tool Figure 1 shows there is an upper and lower limit when applying nitrogen. Generally, research has found the most reliable response from nitrogen is achieved when it is applied at rates between 25 to 60 kg N/ha. spring the profitability of applying N at this time is often questionable unless to increase pasture cover, lengthen the grazing rotation or to fill an immediate or predicted feed gap. Feed budgeting A feed budget is an essential decision making tool for predicting pasture surpluses or predicting a potential feed deficit and therefore informs if nitrogen applications can be cost effective. The profitability of applying nitrogen will depend on the production response to the extra silage made when fed out and the extra cost of conserving the additional silage grown. For most farms, the planning involved around pasture conservation will differ. Predicting a genuine pasture surplus will depend on a farm s calving date, stocking rate (SR) and daily herd dry matter intake (DMI) along with current and expected pasture growth rates. (SR x Intake kg/dm/cow = DMI/ha) Knowing daily pasture demand is essential in predicting how much Figure 1: Influence of season and rate of application on nitrogen response rate. (Adapted from Cameron et al 2005) 4 Tassie Dairy News pasture can be conserved (silage or hay) on farm.

5 Understanding the current and expected pasture growth rates is also essential for predicting how much of the farm can be safely shut up for silage production. (Pasture growth rate - DMI = Surplus pasture) (Surplus pasture pasture growth rate x 100 = percentage of farm that can be shut up for silage.) Once this is established, nitrogen can be applied to the silage area to boost pasture yield. The time of the application is important to capture the full nitrogen response by harvest time. Maximum nitrogen response rates will vary between 4 6 weeks at this time of year. It is important to keep in mind that silage should be made at the three-leaf stage, which allows silage paddocks to re-enter the rotation without compromising dry matter intake on the milking platform. Calculating the cost of N Calculate the cost of nitrogen using the following formula: Cost per tonne ($/tonne) kg of nutrient per tonne = Cost per 1 kg of nutrient ($/kg) Urea is 46% nitrogen therefore 1 tonne of urea contains 460 kg of nitrogen. Using the formula and assuming the cost per tonne of urea is $600 we can calculate the cost of 1 kg of nitrogen in urea. $ = $1.30/kg of N. If we assume a minimum 10:1 response per kg of N applied, the cost per kg of dry matter is 13 cents. ($ = 0.13). Cartage and spreading have not been included in this costing. If 40 kg N/ha is applied, an additional 400 kg DM/ha will be grown at a cost of $52 per hectare ($0.13 x 400 kg DM/ha = $52) or $32 per bale before harvest (assuming 250 kg DM/bale). Additional feed grown can be considered as an opportunity cost over and above the cost of conserving a genuine surplus. However, it is important to also factor in the cost of harvesting, wrapping and storage of the additional feed grown, and the wastage component when feeding. Estimated variable costs at harvest Harvest Cost/bale Cost $ /kg DM Mowing/ Raking/ Baling/ Wrapping Cartage from Paddock Feeding out cost $ $ $ Total Cost $ In this example, the cost of silage is estimated at $0.30/kg DM, this includes the cost of growing ($0.13/ kg DM) and the cost of conservation ($0.17/kg DM). Accounting for an assumed wastage factor of 15% at feeding, the cost per kg DM increases to $0.35/kg DM ($0.35/0.85 = $0.35/kg DM) or $350 per tonne DM as fed. The purchase price of silage last season varied between $ /kg DM, before factoring in cartage, feeding out and wastage costs. Silage prices at this level make applying nitrogen to boost silage yields a worthwhile consideration. Good management, careful planning and attention to detail will positively influence decisions on farm. Comparing silage and alternative supplements Table 2 shows the comparison between cost of silage and other available supplements. While the value of supplements can be measured in cents per MJ ME, these examples use dollars per kg DM. Table 2. Comparative cost of supplements on per kg Dry Matter (DM) basis. Supplements Silage (made on farm) Silage purchased $/Tonne DM $/kg DM $ $ Maize silage $ Barley $ Wheat $ Concentrate pellet $ While Table 2 indicates the cost of silage is comparable to grain supplements, it important to balance the feed ration at all times for energy, fibre and protein. Therefore, the cheapest supplement may not always be the most practical or suitable. Whilst concentrates will have a higher energy density than silage (i.e higher metabolisable energy per kg DM), silage may provide a much needed fibre source, particularly at times when pasture is in short supply. The expected production response from silage will depend on its feed quality. The feed quality of silage or any purchased supplement should be determined with a feed test. Good management, careful planning and attention to detail will positively influence decisions on farm. The importance of doing a feed budget to predict a genuine pasture surplus and a feed deficit is the best investment you can make. Tassie Dairy News 5

6 DairyTas update For more information contact DairyTas Executive Officer Mark Smith, phone , or view the website at What is happening at DairyTas? Staffing and Board changes at DairyTas We welcome Linda Hansen to the part time role of Administration Assistant. Jacki Hine moves to fulltime extension joining Elizabeth Mann (0.6FTE), boosting our program delivery capacity. Into Dairy Project Manager, Steven Jarman leaves for greener pastures after completing his 3 year contract with DairyTas at the end of June. Steven will remain available to support some of the project activities on a casual basis. We thank Steven for the work he has done to promote dairy development and support growth in what has been a challenging and volatile environment. The recent UK promotion has attracted some strong interest with a number of farmers planning visits to Tasmania. A number of the IntoDairy project activities will continue in 2016/17 under the general management of DairyTas including the business management support program, overseas promotions, planning for conversions, increasing participation and coaching and mentoring. Other funds from the growth support area are being diverted to support farmers with Taking Stock and Feed Budgeting this year. Ouse dairy farmer Board member Grant Rogers retires in November with completion of his 6 year term. DairyTas will be advertising for a replacement dairy farmer to join the Board in November with the AGM on November 10th in Smithton. Interested dairy farmers should contact DairyTas for information. We thank Grant for his efforts on the Board and particularly his energy in supporting the dairy development program, his Lincoln University connection with NZ and the dairy development farm plans. Register now with DairyTas for the following programs in 2016: Taking Stock; farm business review Feed Budgeting; planning feed for the season FertSmart; farm nutrient management information Clean Rivers; effluent, drainage, fencing waterways for water quality improvement Flood damage and recovery support Flood Recovery Flood recovery grants and transport subsidies are now available for affected farmers. Contact us if you need any help. Financial Management Register now for the next Financial Literacy workshop. TIA Dairy Research Facility update Lesley Irvine & Mark Freeman TIA Dairy Centre 307 cows have calved (6 th September) with about 60 remaining. Pasture growth rates have been low as several frosts caused soil temperature to decline.however soil temperatures are increasing again and combined with longer daylight hours, pasture growth rates should increase from now on. The springer herd is being grazed on the milking area to enable lead feeding through the dairy which has increased the grazing pressure. Some run-off paddocks have been grazed by the milking herd to ensure the rotation doesn t get too fast and to maintain pasture cover. All silage has been consumed so the feed gap for the milking herd is being filled by hay and 5 kg grain. Left-over PKE (Palm Kernel Extract) is also being used. Cow condition is good, particularly the heifers. All the winter crop and sacrifice paddocks have been worked-up and re-sown to perennial ryegrass. Other paddocks have been identified for summer crops and will be workedup soon this is part of an on-going pasture renovation program. The calf trial comparing accelerated calf rearing programs is progressing well. The ad lib calves (calves can drink as much milk as they choose) continue to have the highest liveweight gain. These calves are consuming an average of 8 litres/calf/day with some of the older calves consuming 13 litres per day. The ad lib calves are consuming less pellets per day than the control group (60 grams/calf compared to 240 grams/calf; the control group are being fed 4 litres of milk/calf/day). While pellet consumption is important for rumen development, the lower intake of the ad lib group isn t a major concern at the moment as intakes will increase as the calves get older and we anticipate they will be consuming at least 1 kg/day by the time they reach weaning weight. 6 Tassie Dairy News

7 Focus farm Crowden Lesley Irvine, TIA Dairy Centre Calving continues at the Crowden s robotic dairy. They are about halfway through calving with 110 cows calved, (6 th September). On Monday (13 th September) Marcus estimates there will only be 35 cows left outside of the springer herd. Nitrogen was applied on the farm 2 weeks ago with another application due next week. The average pasture cover is 2000 kg DM/ha and the growth rate at the end of August was 30 kg DM/ha/day. With only half of the herd in milk, pasture requirements are lower than pasture growth rates so average pasture cover is increasing. Residual management can be challenging in a voluntary system as you can t shut the gate to lock the Focus Farm Update Peter and Jo Jones Elizabeth Mann, Dairy Australia Know YOUR profit drivers Change presents the opportunity to reassess what drives profit in your business. Peter, Jo and the owners of Limberlost have taken the change in milk price as an opportunity to look at the farming system on Limberlost and assess how profitable it is against other dairy systems that could be run on the farm. cows in and force them to eat the pasture to the residual height you want. In order to make sure the residuals aren t left too long at this time of the year (setting the residual floor for the rest of the season), Marcus is looking at some options to control the residual including bringing more cows back from agistment and topping. The Crowden s will be using a 4-way grazing system this year to encourage better cow flow and try to reduce the amount of time cows spend just hanging around at the dairy. Cows are producing 29.1 litres milk/cow/day with 3.72% milkfat and 3.48% protein (2.09 kg MS/cow/day). Apart from pasture, they are being supplemented with 6.7 kg grain/cow/day. Scenario 1 Summer Calving Current Situation Scenario 2 May/June Calving Scenario 3 Spring Calving Farm Size (ha) Number of Cows Calving Start Last week of Last week of April Last week of July January Milk Production (kg MS) 341, , ,439 Gross Margin $476,066 $373,860 $347,214 Difference between current situation gross margin and scenario gross margin $0 -$102,206 -$128,852 To do this they worked with Focus Farm consultant Andrew Wright to assess 3 different farming systems using the computer modelling program Udder : Scenario One Summer calving : Their current situation of calving 775 cows in January/February then drying off in December. Scenario Two May/June Calving : Retain the same number of cows but move the calving period to May/June to take a greater advantage of the spring flush. Scenario Three Spring Calving : Move calving to spring and milk 850 cows. The results of these three scenarios can be seen in the table. For Limberlost, given the farm resources they have available to them, the best scenario financially is to stay with their current calving pattern. It is important to note each of these scenarios are based on Lion s current pricing for Limberlost and the resources that are specific to Limberlost. These being rainfall, irrigation water availability, pasture growth, and asset infrastructure. As you know, farms are all different. What suits Limberlost will not necessarily suit others due to the different environment and resources which are available. Each farm that is considering changes to their system should undertake their own analysis Also something to note with this information, while a premium price is paid for winter milk, there is a reason for that premium. Winter milking is not easy when dealing with rain and the resulting muddy environment which impacts on lameness and increases laneway maintenance. Wet conditions also impact on pasture utilisation and if pugging damage occurs there is a flow-on impact on pasture growth. Remember, when it comes to the different dairy farming systems, one size does not fit all. Taking time to examine what you are doing and why you are doing it is so important. You need to ensure that at all times you are making the most of the resources (and this includes milk price) available to you. In a tight price year, it pays to look at everything to ensure that what you are doing is best for you. Tassie Dairy News 7

8 Calendar of events September TIA: September 22 Dairy Business Focus Day Deloraine Recreation Centre, Rotary Pavilion, 10:30 am to 2:30 pm September 27 North West Discussion Group, Circular Head Recreation Centre, 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, lunch provided TasTAFE Training Calls for expression of interest: WH&S for Managers in Agriculture, Dairy or Primary Production Burnie Financial Literacy Course Smithton Commencing 24th November September 20 & 21 Chem Cert Training, Burnie September 20 & 21 Chem Cert Training, Launceston September 21 Quality Assurance, Deloraine October October 6 & 7 Managing Staff workshop day 1 & 2 (Agritas) October 8 DairyTas Farmer Advisory Group post calving Forest Recreation Centre October TIA Dairy on PAR Seasonal Management Field days October 11 North East October 12 Deloraine October 13 Circular Head Dairy On PAR Pasture Coaching Groups TIA Oct 17 Smithton Oct 18 Deloraine Oct 19 North East Oct 20 Yolla/Wynyard Oct 26 Devonport TasTAFE Training October 19 & 20 Chem Cert Training, Launceston October 19 & 20 Chem Cert King Island October 25 & 26 Farm Water Resource Management, Deloraine October 27 & 28 First Aid, Launceston October 31 Quad Bikes Burnie November November 10 DairyTas AGM Smithton November 17 GRDC Hyper yielding Cereal Crops Field Day November 22 to 24 TIA Dairy on PAR Seasonal Management Field Days TasTAFE Training November 1 Quad Bikes Hagley November 2 Quad Bikes Hagley November 2 & 3 WH&S for Managers in Agriculture, Dairy or Primary Production King Island November 15 & 16 Chem Cert Training, Launceston November 15 & 16 Chainsaws Burnie November 16 & 17 Climate Risk Management, Deloraine November 22 & 23 Chem Cert Training, Burnie November 22 & 23 WH&S for Managers in Agriculture, Dairy or Primary Production Launceston November 22 & 23 Chainsaws King Island November 24 Financial Literacy for Dairy Farmers (Day 1 of 7) Smithton November 24 & 25 Chainsaws King Island November 29 & 30 First Aid Burnie December December 7 TIA TDRF Open Day TasTAFE Training December 6 & 7 First Aid King Island December 7 & 8 Farm Planning, Deloraine December 14 & 15 Financial Literacy for Dairy Farmers (Day 2&3 of 7) Smithton Contact us Tassie Dairy News is provided free to all Tasmanian dairy farmers and is funded by TIA and Dairy Australia. For more information, please contact a TIA Dairy Centre adviser, phone or tas.dairynews@utas.edu.au. Electronic copies of this newsletter are available at Dairy Tas (03) TIA (03) TasTafe AgriTas (03) TasInAg DISCLAIMER While the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) takes reasonable steps to ensure that the information on its publications is correct, it provides no warranty or guarantee that information is accurate, complete or up-to-date. TIA will not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense incurred or arising by reason of any person using or relying on the information contained in this publication. No person should act on the basis of the contents of this publication without first obtaining specific, independent, professional advice. TIA and contributors to this publication may identify products by proprietary or trade names to help readers identify particular types of products. We do not endorse or recommend the products of any manufacturer referred to. Other products may perform as well or better than the products of the manufacturer referred to.