“I felt if our farm was going to be sustainable in the future, and for the next generation to continue farming, we needed to protect our cows from the extremes of the climate to provide business flexibility,” Stuart says.
“I used to drive home and see cows panting in paddocks or standing in stock troughs in the middle of summer and in winter, we would face the issue of cows damaging paddocks when it came in wet.
“A few years ago, we decided we were in a position to finally do something about this dilemma and the results have been unbelievable.”
Stuart and Sarah, who farm in the Kiewa Valley, built the 170 metre-long and 50m-wide compost barn in 2022.
They recently installed fans and misters to further improve cow comfort, completing stage two of the project in time for the hotter months.
With a production gain in the warmer months of around 50 per cent or around 7-8 litres per cow per day, the barn has given the Crosthwaites benefits they never thought possible – reducing feed waste and a herd of content cows.
Stuart couldn’t ask for much more. Since construction, he estimates feed waste on any given day has now reduced by 20-40 per cent.
He says he no longer faces the issue of cows trampling all over forage or damaging paddocks in wet weather. This is a huge saving, not just for feed conservation but protecting the pasture resource.
Stuart adds while it is still a bit too early to talk about fertility gains, he is expecting to have a bit more data around that after the 2024-25 season.
“Before the barn we were struggling with fertility and many of the spring calving cows were carried over into the autumn herd,” he says.
“We expect to see a huge change in that moving forward as cow comfort has improved.”
The couple were also participants in the Victorian Government Emissions Reduction Program to track carbon emissions.
Stuart says increasing production has allowed them to reduce their per cow carbon emissions.
Additionally, the Crosthwaites are currently participating in a case study aimed to help dairy farmers find ways to improve their sustainability practices, including spreading effluent to reduce fertiliser use.
“We are also at looking at fencing off some of our hill country for plantations that we can dedicate to forestry for a carbon sink. But it is tough going and we are doing as much as we can,” Stuart says.
“We’re confident that we’re building a sustainable business to ensure long-term sustainability, and drive efficiencies moving forward.”
To find out more about how Dairy Australia supports farmers to better manage climate and environment, visit dairyaustralia.com.au/climate-and-environment or contact your regional office.
