2020 Program

The culture of Australia’s dairy industry took centre stage at ADC 2020 Melbourne including the impact of cultural aspects at a broader level and in relation to on-farm profitability. A 500-strong delegation converged on Melbourne in February for Australia’s premier dairy event.

ADC Speaker presentations

ADC 2020 Melbourne highlights

ADC 2020 Melbourne Program (pdf)

ADC delegates explored the dairy region of Western Victoria before full Conference proceedings commenced on Thursday 20 February 2019.

Departed Pullman Albert Park Melbourne for Victoria’s western dairy region.

Farm visits – Mark Trigg (Bungaree) and Dale Angus/Karen Watkiss (Ondit) before barefoot bowls and dinner at the Colac Bowling Club. Overnight in Colac.

Farm visit at Apostle Whey Cheese (Cooriemungle) before a mandatory tourist stop at the Twelve Apostles Port Campbell. Second farm visit at Matthew Whitehead (Timboon) and a factory visit at Maxcare (Laverton North) before returning to Pullman Albert Park in time for ADC Welcome Function.

 A fun session targeted primarily at younger delegates who may be nervous at the thought of embarking on this two-day extravaganza. An opportunity to meet the Programming Committee and get the 101 of how to make the most of your conference experience. Highly recommended for first-timers and the younger gen to connect, meet and feel at ease to maximise your time at ADC 2020.

As a major processor in Australia and New Zealand, Fonterra have become and integral and valued supporter of ADC using strengthened partnerships and networks to support the annual event and at the same time reinforcing their role in the Australian dairy industry. Fonterra is the regular host of the ADC Welcome Function setting the tone for each ADC.

Dairy cultures… more than just milk.

There are plenty of people who theorise on how to change a culture but CEO and founder of OzHarvest Ronni Kahn has done it. This remarkable ball of energy has taken an idea; changed legislation and turned food waste into a food resource for people who need it. To make this happen has required a whole lot of people to change how they think and act. This is her story.

Independent livestock sustainability consultant Jude Capper takes us on a remarkable journey to explore if the global dairy industry has “culture on its side” to forge the change that is needed to take us into the decade commencing 2020.

Do we have the will, the attitude and the resilience to meet and beat the head-winds? Dairy Australia Chairman Jeff Odgers reckons yes, but there are some harsh lessons along the way.

Farmers around the globe are facing increasing pressure: pressure to produce more food for a growing global population, pressure to manage increasing business complexity and still make a profit and pressure to retain their social licence to operate, particularly in relation to the environment. In this session, we look at the five biggest challenges facing dairy farmers and then dig deeper to look for some potential answers.

 As a consultant advising farming groups, universities and NGOs around the world, Dr John Roche is at the forefront of weighing up the challenges facing dairy farmers. In his other role as Chief Science Adviser to NZ’s Ministry for Primary Industries, he also has visibility of many of these challenges through a government policy lens. Farmers all over the world are working hard on how to get the balance right – economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, family time – all while providing the most nutritious food for their neighbours and people the world over. John takes a deep dive into the five biggest challenges we face and looks at what we need to do to shore-up our future as dairy farmers in a rapidly changing world.

As farmers around the world grapple with the twin demands of increasing production but decreasing inputs, new approaches to soil management are emerging. Associate Professor Frances Hoyle is an Australian soil scientist looking at how soil quality, biology and organic matter management interact. She explains how climate, soil and management impact performance.

Wil Armitage is a big dairy farmer by UK terms. Running 1,200 cows across four farms, this innovative farmer has made quantum change to his business with an eye on the consumer, the environment and the invariable changes that come by way of technology. We’ve asked Wil to give us a snapshot of the most significant changes he’s made in order to find his new sweet spot, with an eye on what the Australian farmer can learn from and apply to our conditions.

Panel: We invite our three speakers back to the stage to discuss what they see as the way forward for farmers in overcoming the challenges outlined.

What is the current state of global physical waste and how much does the dairy industry contribute? What responsibility does the Australian dairy industry have for minimising its contribution to global physical waste? And, where will a business as usual approach take us?

 An escalating consumer focus on the waste we generate and its global impact has to date spent little time on agricultural waste. But supplying agriculture with its necessary inputs uses vast quantities of waste too. From silage wrap to feed supplements packaging, to pastures that are not optimised, to manure and fertilisers (both natural and chemical) that leach. We ask agricultural scientist Dr Chris Russell to attempt to do what no others have yet done – and quantify our industry’s physical waste.

We’ve heard about the physical waste on dairy farms – but what else are we wasting? Well, according to Jana Hocken, author of The Lean Dairy Farm, the answer is plenty! She calls it process waste and in this session we take an uncomfortable look at what our non-physical waste is and how this contributes to physical waste.

 We bring together industry leadership (Helen Dornam, Sustainability Manager Dairy Australia), a regulator (Zac Dornam, EPA Gippsland) and a farmer advocate for best practise agricultural waste management (Geoff Nicole, Gippsland) and our Kiwi waste expert (Jana Hocken, The Lean Dairy Farm) to ask.

Gippsland Dairy Farmer Chris Griffin  launches the Australian Dairy Industry’s 2019 Sustainability report.

Co-hosted by ADC scientific director Richard Rawnsley and Dairy Matters ambassador Matt Moran, five young, ambitious dairy scientists are charged with the task of communicating their science to a farmer audience. With each asked to present for six minutes only, they must be concise, articulate and engaging. This presentation is the third and arguably most important component of the competition which also requires the finalists to have submitted an article suitable for printing in the Australian Dairyfarmer magazine; and have a poster on display in the exhibition area.

 Signature ADC annual event with a charity auction in 2020 led by none other than the ‘man in the hat’ esteemed auctioneer Brian Leslie. Thanks to Tama Australia we have a commissioned ‘cow’ painting by surreal artist Andrew Baines with proceeds of sale directed to Jude Capper’s (keynote) charity Cancer Research UK. A selection of other special auction items will also be on offer with funds going directly to Blaze Aid helping our dairy farming community rebuild from the recent Australian bushfires.

Dairy cultures… more than just milk.

The Australian Dairy Conference Annual General Meeting led by ADC President Ben Geard

ADC turns to consumer insights specialist Julian Mellentin to better understand the impact consumers are having on the supply chain. Is competition for a share of the consumer wallet forcing retailers and food companies to demand more efficiencies down the line? And if the average consumer is really prepared to pay more for milk, why won’t retailers take advantage of that? We also want to know what happened in the UK when supermarkets started sourcing their dairy product direct from farmers!

Is your culture an impediment or an accelerator to success? Consultant Mandy Johnson takes us through characteristics and what can you do to change habits, reduce conflict and misconduct, and foster more engagement and productivity in your people. And how do you do this under stress, when there’s no rain and the financial pressure amps up? 

Dr Mike Paros teaches undergraduate courses in animal welfare science, behaviour and ethics while maintaining an active dairy veterinary practice in the US.  He is also a consultant to Columbia River Dairy and its 35,000 milk cows; where he has been instrumental in developing specific protocols, training, and assessment tools as part of its comprehensive animal welfare program.   Mike offers a unique perspective and innovative strategies on how to create a culture of compassion and stockmanship within the dairy workplace.

When Moxey Farms sent Dan Brown from their Dubbo enterprise to head up the newly acquired Coomboona, he was tasked with many things including the nebulous “turning staff culture around”. Coming from a business known for the opposite was its own culture shock. Find out how Dan approached the new role.

A sobering but responsible story of the vulnerability of working on farms when the boss or your workmates have inappropriate plans. Where to go and what to do if this happens to you.

Panel: We invite our speakers back to the stage for the opportunity to question and discuss.

Seline Win Pe, survivor of the Lindt cafe siege talks about that dreadful day and how she emerged with a desire to make a difference to Australian agriculture. It is without doubt a story of overcoming adversity… just like the young farmers whom she met as part of her preparation for ADC 2020.

Hosted by Greg Duncan (Dairy NSW), three remarkable young farmers (Aaron Thomas, Rachael McGrath and Rose Pilipzen) share their journey from great adversity to emerging from the other end of at times a seemingly never-ending tunnel. We look at what drove them, and where they found the resilience to make it happen. This is not a story of rags to riches; or of success measured by wealth and the size of the pie. It’s a story of how three young people who love their industry, have found their why.

Glenys Zucco (Dairy Australia), Bud Stammers (inventor Feedbuddy 200) and Carlene Dowie (The Australian Dairyfarmer) review the final six adverts submitted to promote the Australian dairy industry and invite you, the delegate, to vote for ADC’s best dairy advertisement that shows us why dairy matters.

Friday night Happy Hour after Conference close in Pullman Hotel Atrium Bar and Lounge.