Construct your own program to explore the dairy industry

Dairying is one of Australia’s most important rural industries, producing nearly 10 billion litres of milk each year and directly employing approximately 46,000 people. It is the fourth-largest rural industry in Australia generating $4.4 billion in farm gate value in 2018-19. 35% of the milk produced is exported, much of it in value-added products such as butter, cheese and infant formula. Even though dairy farms are found in every State of Australia most milk production occurs on the south-east seaboard, especially in the State of Victoria but also in New South Wales and Tasmania.

Agricultural Tours Riverina in association with a number of local experts has developed a generic tour program, from which you may select those visits that fit within the time you have available. Let us know your major interests and tour date(s) and we will quickly design and budget a tour for you.

Every tour will be accompanied by one of our local experts to answer questions you might have in addition to the questions you ask farmers and other site managers.

CONSTRUCT YOUR OWN PROGRAM FROM SITES LISTED BELOW:

  • When choosing places, processes and people you want to see, plan on visiting up to four places each day, not including your day of arrival or day of departure from Victoria or southern New South Wales
  • Do not schedule tour dates for weekends or public holidays
  • If you ask us to arrange land transport, accommodation and catering we will charge you at nett cost

Farm Visits

  • Dairy farm pasture based
  • Dairy farm shed or barn based
  • Robotic milking system
  • Rotary milking system
  • Herringbone milking system
  • Goat dairy
  • Sheep dairy
  • Dairy farm generating power from waste water or solid effluent
  • Dairy farm using effluent for fertilising pastures
  • Dairy farm adding value to its own milk products

Other site visits

  • Dairy cow nutrition  (Meet a Nutritionist)
  • Dairy cow feed manufacture and retail (Visit a Manufacturer)
  • Remote electronic monitoring of dairy cattle (Meet a consultant supplying systems to farmers)
  • Pasture development (Visit a large seed development company’s research site)
  • Dairy factory producing a range of milk-based products (Visit a Factory)
  • Current directions in dairy research (Visit a University or Government Research Institute)
  • Competition from related products – almond milk, soy milk (Visit Manufacturers)

Lecture Presentations

  • Some of the regulatory framework of the Australian dairy industry – whole-of-life tracing of dairy animals, regulations governing use of farm and veterinary chemicals on dairy farms
  • Dairy workforce issues – skills training at management and other levels, labour availability (Visit a Training Establishment – University or trades or secondary level)
  • Dairy Breed Societies (Jersey, Holstein, Aussie Red) (Meet Executive Members)

ADD-ONS

  • Visits to other industry sites
  • Road air-conditioned transport hire – mini-bus (up to 20 pax) or coach
  • Airport transfers
  • Accommodation twin-share or single
  • Catering (let us know your special requirements)
  • Interpreter at cost