People interested in attending ImProving Herds National Muster are encouraged to register online, with the full program now available.
Held at Jelbart Dairy, Leongatha South on 10 May, the National Muster will showcase the findings from the ImProving Herds project, woven with the personal genetics and business experiences of Jelbart Dairy and other farmers involved in the project.
Event host, Tim Jelbart, said his participation in ImProving Herds has been an opportunity to see the dollar value of his breeding decisions.
“We are looking forward to hosting the National Muster as one of the 27 farms involved in ImProving Herds. It’s been a privilege working with the science team and having our own herd records put under the microscope,” Tim said.
Tim is one of four farmers who are putting their perspective on the learnings from the ImProving Herds project, but in Tim’s case he is also sharing the Jelbart Dairy story since the passing of his father Max some 18 months ago and his mother, Barbe in 2014.
Other ImProving Herds Focus Farmers to present on the day include Jared Ireland and Brad O’Shannessy both from Northern Victoria, and Sam McCluggage from Western Victoria.
They will share their personal perspective on how their management decisions have changed by understanding the contribution of herd data and genetics to their business.
People attending the Muster will have the opportunity to view the Jelbart’s large calf-rearing set up and hear from their trusted advisers including John Mulvany, Peter DeGaris and Gerard Brislin. Jennie Pryce, ImProving Herds, lead scientist will present the project results.
ImProving Herds is a 3-year, $1.5million project which has gathered evidence real farms to determine the contribution of herd improvement to Australian dairy businesses.
Funded by the Gardiner Dairy Foundation, ImProving Herds is a collaboration involving the Victorian Government, DataGene, Dairy Australia, Holstein Australia, and the National Herd Improvement Association of Australia (NHIA).