For the past 14 years, the Conlans juggled their construction jobs while managing a herd of beef cows on the side.
“As of last year, there wasn’t a lot of money in beef so that made us look into different areas,” Ryan explains.
The couple were living in South Gippsland and after some investigating, made their career change.
“This is a fair few for two people who've never milked cows before. But we're getting there,” says Ryan.
Help at hand
WestVic Dairy has been supporting the Conlans on their dairy farming journey. Their main point of contact has been Sam Andrews, who is a Farm Engagement Lead (FEL) in the region.
“The primary focus of my role is to get to know who the farmers in the region are, what they're doing, how they're doing it, where they're headed, any issues or concerns they have or suggestions – and then feeding that back and linking them in with our services and resources,” Sam says.
“We can’t be everything to everyone through. So, it’s really important for Farm Engagement Leads and Extension Advisors to have really good relationships with our service providers as well.
“This led me to meeting Ryan and Alysha. I had a relationship with their milk processor who advised me that they just moved to our region and started dairy farming. This is how we linked in with them.”
The Conlans have been grateful for WestVic Dairy’s assistance since they began dairy farming.
“We've had a lot of support from WestVic Dairy, and it’s really has been good. Everything so far has been positive,” says Ryan.
Within weeks of arriving, Sam reached out to the Conlans and connected them to the resources available.
“We've had Debbie [Twiss] come over and talk through all the animal health side of things. We've also had Matt [Wood] visit and run through employment options as we're looking now at growing. We've also done the two-day milking and mastitis course,” Alysha says.
“That's all within the first six months. Obviously, there's a lot more we want to do, but there's a lot of work.”
Sam says connection is important.
“We have also looked to link Ryan and Alysha in with local experienced farmers, and they have joined the WestVic Dairy Lakes and Craters Discussion Group,” she says.
“Farmers enjoy the ability to link in with each other and that peer-to-peer connection is extremely valuable.”
It wasn’t an easy to journey finding the right farm – and took about three years – but the Conlans are happy with where they are now.
“We were lucky to come up with a good deal with the farm owner, who was fantastic to work with,” says Ryan.
“He has been a strong mentor for us throughout our journey.”
Engaging farmers
Farmers like the Conlans are what drives Sam to succeed in her FEL role.
“This has been an amazing story – people that are completely new to the dairy industry and you come out to the farm to see they're doing great things and really loving it. They’re quite passionate about what they do,” Sam says.
“It’s contagious when you're going out onto the farm meeting with farmers and learning about what they're doing and how they're doing it, and what we can then do in turn to support them.
“Sometimes it's farmers that have been doing it for 40 years, so it may not necessarily be that we're linking them in with milking and mastitis management courses – it might be more that higher level services and resources. I get quite excited to share the passion with farmers.”
To find out more about how WestVic Dairy can help you, contact the team today on 03 5557 1000 or visit Dairy Australia | WestVic Dairy
