GAYLE TIERNEY (Western Victoria – Minister for Training and Skills, Minister for Higher Education, Minister for Agriculture) (12:22): I rise today to highlight the remarkable achievements of two groundbreaking dairy research programs, DairyBio and DairyFeedbase. These programs were established through a partnership between Agriculture Victoria, Dairy Australia and the Gardiner Foundation and have made significant contributions to the dairy industry.
DairyFeedbase has focused on dairy cow nutrition, along with pasture measurement and management. Its transformational research and innovation have addressed key challenges such as reducing the industry’s environmental impact and enhancing productivity. DairyBio has focused on breeding more productive, efficient, healthy and fertile cows and climate-resilient pastures, leading to an increased genetic gain in profitability. The economic benefits anticipated by 2030 exceed $1 billion and demonstrate the programs’ potential for enhancing farm profits, milk production and herd health outcomes. These initiatives can both benefit farmers through increased profitability and also contribute to meeting sustainability goals by increasing efficiency of resource use – that is, more milk from the same inputs while reducing emission output.
I am pleased to announce that a new five-year DairyFeedbase program for 2023 to 2028 has recently been endorsed by the industry–government partnership. This complements the second five-year round of DairyBio, which commenced in 2021. These programs have demonstrated the government’s commitment to working with Victoria’s agriculture industry to support ongoing profitability and sustainability while adapting to climate change and working to reduce emissions. I would like to thank Dairy Australia and the Gardiner Foundation for supporting this cutting-edge research and ensuring a prosperous future for the sector.