AS CLAIMS to fame go, running the biggest broad-scale agricultural business in southeast Victoria is a credible bragging right.
- Michael Bannon, Longford, Victoria
Yet 33-year-old Michael Bannon and his team of six staff are less interested in talk and more intent on action to ensure the business runs at its peak.
It takes dedication and teamwork to farm an area of 12,500ha, supporting 2500 cattle, 3000 Merinos and 1330ha of crops.
Michael has been farm manager for Gippsland Water's 12 properties for the past seven years.
And although he has experienced tumultuous times, with some of the worst seasons on record, he says the experience has provided valuable knowledge and opened new pathways.
The future of the business is in mixed farming, with a strong emphasis on cereal cropping and grains.
Michael says Gippsland has a lucrative grain market, under-pinned by the dairy industry and potentially worth millions of dollars to the region.
Statistics show that $170 million a year leaves Gippsland in dairy feed costs.
"I found this figure staggering," Michael said.
And although the potential in dairy feed is huge, the benefits of integrating a cropping program are also appealing.
The cropping program on the biggest of the 12 properties, Dutson Downs, between Longford and Golden Beach, now incorporates 1000ha of cereals, plus 330ha of lupins and canola.
"We have been slowly building the cropping program because we can see more of a future in that for us," Michael said.
"We are down to 700 breeders, so the dry years are really making us rethink our program."
The 12,500ha owned by Gippsland Water includes 5000ha of farm land, 1000ha of timber plantation and the balance native vegetation.
The properties are spread from Maffra and Stratford in central Gippsland to Drouin further west, and include five wastewater treatment plants.
Michael said waste was transferred to a series of lagoons, ranging from 20 to 2000 megalitres, to be treated and stored as reclaimed water for irrigating pastures.
Gippsland Water has also started a recycled composting trial in which water sludges are mixed with other organic materials and municipal green waste to produce compost.
"It is the integrated nature of the business that makes it work so well," Michael said.
At Dutson, he expects to have 1000-1200 megalitres of water to use within the next few years.
He has been looking at crops that fit the irrigation mix, and maize has "exceeded expectations".
"We thought if we can get 10t/ha it will be worthwhile and we got 15.9t/ha," Michael said.
The organic compost acts like a slow-release fertiliser.
"That suits our country because it's sandy and we can lose a lot of nutrients through leaching, and the compost helps hold water too," he said.
Michael's long-term aim is to refine the cropping technique for maximum production.
"If you can grow a crop like maize you don't need to grow so many other crops, because the gross margins are so good," he said.
Double cropping, which involves planting summer and winter crops on the same site, is also on the agenda at Dutson.
Wheat, barley and triticale are also produced with yields varying from 2.5t/ha to 3.5t/ha, and hopes of reaching 4t/ha should the good seasons return.
"We have been able to expand quickly and trial a lot because we can rely on our bread and butter, the cattle, which still provide an income," Michael said.
Dry conditions have cut silage production from almost 2000 tonnes in 2007 to about 1000 tonnes last year.
Michael said growing cereal crops would always be a niche industry for Gippsland, because of the demand for dairy feed.
"We can grow feed grain here and get $30-$40 a tonne more than anywhere else, because of the transport costs associated with buying that grain in," he said.
