David Bird believes the great return out of the livestock industry is breeding something to sell, but now in his 70s, he’s ready to retire and spend his time with family.
Photo by
Ian Johnson
The future of farming in the Federation area is looking terrific, according to Balldale farmer David Bird, with younger people who are prepared to move with the industry and weather returning and exploring subtle changes from traditional practices.
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He said if farmers were prepared to be flexible in their practices and move with the times, they would capitalise on the luck the weather brings.
“The livestock industry has changed over the years,” David said.
“Sheep have always been dual purpose, always had wool and meat, now farmers are focusing more on meat; wool hasn't had a good enough return in recent years to pay the cost of shearing.
“Now a lot of cropping people are setting up feedlots, buying lambs in and fattening them, so they're becoming traders.
“I still believe the great return out of livestock is breeding something to sell.”
One of the major changes in sheep farming is the use of genetics.
With the genome for the sheep having been worked out, stud farmers are using genetics to identify families within their stud, which they can then follow.
David said they take a DNA sample from the lambs when they’re born, and from that they can work out the parentage and use the information to enhance their flocks and maximise output.
Other changes are more subtle.
“I think farmers are getting better at looking after their soils,” he said.
“There will be less burning of residuals; I think they'll utilize the stubble either back into the ground or in other ways.
“There’s a lot more precision in farming now with GPS, and drones will bring another level of precision again.
“Better utilisation of rain and storing moisture, keeping cover on the ground, and stopping dust from blowing around are all areas where innovation can help move the industry forward.”
David says sheep farming is a diverse industry now, with traditional breeders and fatteners expanding to include cropping and livestock trading.
Photo by
Ian Johnson
David said a lot of farmers in the area have had bumper seasons on the back of such changes combined with a bit of luck with well-timed rain.
He described his last couple of seasons as some of the best he’s had, despite the overall drier conditions, but said you’ve got to get the rain at the right time.
With a good spread of light rain early in autumn and then again in May, conditions this year are pointing to another successful crop, but the key month, according to David, is July.
“Sometimes July can be too wet, so when it’s dry, it's usually a good sign,” he said.
“Now we’re getting rain again in August, so it’s looking good.”
Now, as he prepares for retirement, the unassuming farmer in his 70s has made changes of his own in recent years, with the focus at his farm changing from breeding sheep for wool to fattening and trading them and increasing cropping.
“We decided to sell the farm about 18 months ago,” he said.
“Our children aren’t interested in farming, they’ve got other careers, and it was time for me to retire.
“So, we sold our breeding livestock and put in multi-species cover crops to present the farm well.
“Because we’d sold all our ewes, we needed sheep to fatten up and trade.
“I could have gone back into running ewes and breeding lambs again, but if you've got ewes and lambs at foot it's a lot harder to cease farming on a given date; it’s easier to have livestock that you can run out the gate and sell.
“They’ve always said farmers are all old, and a lot of us are, but a lot of farms in this area have kids coming back, so they can see a future.”
