BROTHERS Bart and Jan van Ruiswyk are determined not to skimp on managed rations for their Goulburn Valley dairy herd.
And the results have shown up in the vat, with a 13 per cent increase in milk production last financial year.
Bart worked with nutritionist Bruce McCracken, of James and Son, to devise the ration at a cost of $5/cow a day for the 350-cow herd at Undera, Victoria.
The cows each receive 1kg cereal straw ($150/tonne), 3kg dry matter canola silage ($270/tonne), 5kg oaten silage, 3kg choc malt ($380/tonne), 2kg tapioca ($380/tonne), 1kg dry ME-14 ($120/tonne), 1kg dry citrus pulp ($275/tonne), 2kg canola meal ($305/tonne), 3kg wheat ($420/tonne) and minerals.
Bart describes the ration as a smorgasbord.
He switched from pellets to grain plus additives in spring 2006 when wheat prices dropped to $230/tonne.
But the grain and by-products has meant an investment in three new silos, a roller mill and concrete storage bunkers.
The cows are fed twice daily on a 135m-long concrete feed pad, capable of taking a herd of 440.
The feed lane is 6m wide and the cow lane 5m wide.
Twin 18,000-litre water tanks flood wash the effluent, with the help of a scraper, towed by a motorbike, into a soilds trap.
Liquid effluent flows into a holding dam before being mixed with irrigation water and flood irrigated on to pasture.
Solid waste is spread on pasteurising a manure spreader, saving on fertiliser costs.
Bart said the feed pad had reduced wastage to 5-7 per cent.
The feed pad has staunchions that firmly lock the cow's head during feeding, allowing for pregnancy testing.
Bart and Jan have 900 dry tonnes of pasture and maize silage and 400 tonnes of hay stored, enough to feed the herd for two years.
"I did a lot of driving to look at crops and negotiated with grain growers on a windrow or in the bale loaded-on-the-truck basis," Bart said.
Last year he bought 600-700 tonnes of canola silage and wheat for an average of $270/tonne dry matter delivered.
Producing 2.8 million litres and an average of 660kg of milk solids last financial year, the 350 split-calving Holstein-Freisian and crossbred cow herd is to be rebuilt to 420 head.
Two years ago the brothers were milking 450 cows when seasonal conditions forced 60 to be parked at Colac, Victoria, and the herd cut to 320.
Bart arrived from Holland as a 21-year-old in the early 1980s and began sharefarming at Undera, with 25 heifers.
He was attracted to Undera's "good-as-gold farming land", because the land was affordable and the irrigation secure.
"This area is known as the heart of the dairy industry," Bart said.
"The last five years have been a challenge but we still made a good profit."
The brothers farm 230ha freehold and 130ha leasehold, all lasered for flood irrigation, and milk off 200ha in winter.
Just 290mm of the 450mm average rainfall has fallen this year.
The farm has a 542-megalitre high-security entitlement and 249 ML of low-security water. Today's allocation is 14 per cent.
This year the brothers bought two parcels of temporary water, ranging from 50 to 125 megalitres, at $350-$400/ML.
"This will set us up for autumn and spring," Bart said.
The van Ruiswyk's production system was largely grass-based, supplemented by maize and pasture silage, during the 1990s.
"In 2002, we built the feed pad for $170,000 including troughs and concrete, to be prepared for wet winters," Bart said.
"But the pad has been a good investment for the dry years.
"We like to feed our cows better to get the production - on a 289-day lactation we averaged 8600 litres a cow, 283kg protein and 360kg of fat.
"We are price-aware and are constantly fine tuning the ration.
"Building a good relationship with the ration supplier before purchase is a good thing.
"It's important not to skimp on the ration and never be afraid to ask the advice of a nutritionist."
