The Business of Dairy

NSW DPI
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The Business of Dairy podcast will look at aspects of management of dairy businesses from both within the farm gate and outside the farm gate, speaking to farmers and service providers with skills, information and knowledge of value to you and your business. We will bring to you monthly discussions on topics that will grow your knowledge and understanding of management areas that will drive strong farm business performance into the future. This series is brought to you by the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit with funding and support from the Hunter Local Land Services.

  1. FEB 8

    Revisiting heifer management in dry times

    This month we revisit one of our very early episodes which was released on the 1st December 2023 which was a particularly dry period across most of NSW and other regions. My guest was Neil Moss, a veterinarian and consultant with Scibus.  The focus of our discussion was on heifer management in dry times and while we currently have much of southern NSW, Victoria and SA who have been managing very dry conditions for a prolonged period, these conditions are expanding. I am recording this introduction in December 2025 and the forecast in NSW moving towards Feb 2026 when this podcast will be released, is showing expansion of dry conditions further into central NSW and some coastal pockets. Useful resources related to this podcast: ·       Farming Forecaster (including instructional videos) ·       NSW DPIRD Seasonal Conditions and drought forecast webpage ·       Dairy Australia’s “Nutritional Strategies” webpage – comprehensive list of feed budgeting and management resources   This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here - Dairy | Department of Primary Industries It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address thebusinessofdairy@gmail.com Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include: NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter - Connect with us | Department of Primary Industries  Transcript here Produced by Liam Driver The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.

    33 min

  2. JAN 4

    NSW Farm Performance in a Year of Extremes

    The 2024-25 financial year was one of extremes for NSW dairy farmers with extraordinarily wet conditions in the North and significantly dry conditions in the South. Despite these challenges, average profitability on our NSW Dairy Farm Monitor farms was above the long-term average for the 5th year in a row. Average Return on Total Assets managed was 4.3%, down slightly from the previous year of 4.5%. In this episode we discuss factors that impacted these results and look at some of the regional nuances between the North and South group of farms participating in the project. This project is an ongoing collaboration between NSW DPIRD and Dairy Australia and marks the 14th year of DFMP in NSW. Useful resources related to this podcast: ·       NSW Dairy Industry Overview 2025 and Snapshot ·       NSW Dairy Farm Monitor Project webpage with links to the Annual Report, Regional Summaries and the Interactive DFMP Report ·       Dairy Australia’s DFMP webpage with links to Annual Reports for all milk producing regions of Australia This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here - Dairy | Department of Primary Industries It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address thebusinessofdairy@gmail.com Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include: NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter - Connect with us | Department of Primary Industries  Transcript here Produced by Liam Driver The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.

    31 min

  3. 12/01/2025

    Development approvals made easier - myFarmPlanner

    This month we continue the theme of planning, not business planning but farm development planning and approvals. My guest, Wendy Goodburn, a NSW DPIRD Land Use Planner joins us to explain the development and recent release of a fantastic, freely available online tool called myFarmPlanner. myFarmPlanner assists farmers, planners, consultants and local government with the pre-lodgement process for development applications related to on farm developments and upgrades. It is designed for the dairy, horticulture, poultry and agritourism industries in NSW. While this is an audio only podcast and while we can’t actually show you what the tool looks like, you can view our recently recorded Dairy Breakfast webinar which was very well received and shows the tool being used live with a NSW dairy farm. A link to the recording is in the show notes and can also be found on the NSW Agriculture YouTube page in the Dairy playlist. Useful resources related to this podcast: ·       Dairy Business Breakfast webinar showcasing myFarmPlanner ·       myFarmPlanner ·       Industry resources for planning and development including “NSW Dairy Development and Environmental Guidelines 2024”, “Farm System Evaluator” tool and the “National Guidelines – Dairy Feedpads and Contained Housing” ·       NSW Agricultural Land Use Planning website   This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here - Dairy | Department of Primary Industries It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address thebusinessofdairy@gmail.com Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include: NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter - Connect with us | Department of Primary Industries  Transcript here Produced by Liam Driver The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.

    21 min

  4. 11/03/2025

    A Farm Business Plan – What is it? Do I need one?

    “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” This is a quote from Dwight D Eisenhower who was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe in WWII and also the 34th President of the United States. What he as saying is that a plan is a guide that can often change in the heat of battle, but because there is a plan it means different risks and scenarios have been thought through, you know what your resources, risks and goals are and having thought all this through you now have a foundation or base level that sets out your direction and you can use and adapt this when things change. In the case of a Farm Business Plan, it is also an excellent document to have when communicating within your business and to external parties such as advisers and financiers. My guest this month is Jess Bell, Senior Project Officer with NSW DPIRD’s Farm Business Resilience Program who has co-authored a book called Farm Business Planning which has been published by Tocal College and is also available online. We discuss the importance of a Farm Business Plan, when you should develop one, who should do it, what it contains, why you should have one and how it can be used, as well as providing you with lots of resources to help you through the process and set your business up for future success. Useful resources related to this podcast: ·       Order your “Farm Business Planning” book and access free templates ·       Dairy Standard Chart of Accounts ·       Dairy Cash Budgeting Tool | Dairy Australia ·       Farm Business Resilience Program This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here - Dairy | Department of Primary Industries It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address thebusinessofdairy@gmail.com Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include: NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter - Connect with us | Department of Primary Industries  Transcript here Produced by Liam Driver The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.

    38 min

  5. 10/04/2025

    Rural Assistance Authority – Support for NSW farmers

    Farm businesses in some parts of NSW have experienced some very challenging weather events throughout 2025 including ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in March and the East Coast Severe Weather event in May. When disasters of this scale occur and they are declared a severe weather event, the NSW Rural Assistance Authority (RAA) is the agency that administers funding made available by the state and federal governments. In this episode my guests introduce us to the RAA, its history, and its role in administration and distribution of funds. We also discuss two types of loans made available to provide assistance with natural disasters and also drought preparedness and touch on farm debt mediation. Useful resources related to this podcast: ·       RAA website - NSW Rural Assistance Authority (RAA) ·       Phone 1800 678 593 (Monday to Friday from 8:30am – 4:30pm) ·       NSW DPIRD Dairy – Emergencies and risk management web page - Emergencies and risk management | Department of Primary Industries   This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here - Dairy | Department of Primary Industries It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address thebusinessofdairy@gmail.com Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include: NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter Transcript here Produced by Liam Driver The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.

    29 min

  6. 08/31/2025

    Insights that still matter: Over-capitalisation revisited

    What is over-capitalisation, what does it look like on a dairy farm and how does it impact your business performance? It is important to be aware of how over-capitalisation can add to your business’s cost of production – adding to both cash and non-cash costs. This month, updates have been provided on average depreciation and interest costs as we revisit one of our very early podcast episodes. The content and insights provided by Jake are as relevant today as they were in 2021. Useful resources related to this podcast: ·       Jake Musson (Dairy Australia) – NSW System Performance presentation (~19:20 minute mark for ‘Plant and equipment vs. Depreciation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLb7Z2DU6fI  ·       Tower of Resilience (John Mulvany) ·       Farm Business Snapshot calculator ·       NSW Dairy Farm Monitor reports   This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here - Dairy | Department of Primary Industries It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address thebusinessofdairy@gmail.com Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include: NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter - Connect with us | Department of Primary Industries  Transcript - Here Produced by Liam Driver The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.

    30 min

  7. 08/01/2025

    MiniMilkBiz - a tool to check business health

    How do you tell if your dairy business is heading in the direction you want it to? Is it ‘gut sense’ or can you quantify it? MiniMilkBiz is a tool that we have recently updated that allows you to generate some rich physical and financial reports to see how your milking herd is currently performing. This episode explains MiniMilkBiz, what information is required and outlines the two key reports that are generated. The show notes contain a link to download the tool from our website. Learn more: MiniMilkBiz Dairy Standard Chart of Accounts DairyBase This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here - Dairy | Department of Primary Industries It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address thebusinessofdairy@gmail.com Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include: NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter - Connect with us | Department of Primary Industries  Transcript here  Produced by Video Lift The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.

    16 min

  8. 07/03/2025

    Employing overseas workers on Australian dairy farms

    As Australian dairy farms have expanded and herd sizes grown, the demand for skilled labour has increased —but finding local workers can be challenging. In this episode, we explore how employing overseas staff through various visa options and the Dairy Industry Labour Agreement can help fill the gap. Migration agent Fadi Malek, who is Director of Global Skilled Employment Services and NSW dairy farmer Andrew Farr join us to unpack the process of registering, recruiting, and employing international workers. While not a one-size-fits-all solution, overseas labour—when managed well—can be a rewarding option for both employers and employees. Join us in our milestone 50th podcast, to learn about the opportunities, challenges, and practical steps involved in bringing skilled workers to your farm. Topics include: Types of visas – what might suit your situationWorker rights and pay ratesDairy Industry Labour Agreement (DILA)Registering as a potential overseas labour employerEffective working relationships and cultural considerationsAssistance with recruitment and immigration processes Learn more: The People in Dairy – Hiring people from overseas. Dairy Australia fact sheets: Dairy Industry Labour Agreement (DILA) – What you need to know.  DILA - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)  Global Skilled Employment Services.  This podcast is an initiative of the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit – further information and resources are available here - Dairy | Department of Primary Industries It is brought to you in partnership the Hunter Local Land Services Please share this podcast with your fellow farmers and colleagues and feel free to contact us with suggestions or comments via this email address thebusinessofdairy@gmail.com Further NSW DPI Dairy channels to follow and subscribe to include; NSW DPI Dairy Facebook page NSW DPI Dairy Newsletter - Connect with us | Department of Primary Industries  Transcript here The information discussed in this podcast are for informative and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice.

    43 min
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About

The Business of Dairy podcast will look at aspects of management of dairy businesses from both within the farm gate and outside the farm gate, speaking to farmers and service providers with skills, information and knowledge of value to you and your business. We will bring to you monthly discussions on topics that will grow your knowledge and understanding of management areas that will drive strong farm business performance into the future. This series is brought to you by the NSW DPI Dairy Business Advisory Unit with funding and support from the Hunter Local Land Services.

Information

  • Creator
    NSW DPI
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    57
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Business of Dairy
  • Show Website
    The Business of Dairy

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