Going Corporate Dairy Farming

Abstract

In this paper, whereabouts in Australia might a corporate firm invest fruitfully in dairying, and which key things they would need to “get right” to succeed, are explored. The dairy industries in South-west Victoria and in Tasmania enjoy a stable production environment. South-west Victoria offers opportunities for repeatable performance and competitive returns to capital by using a dairy farm system based on pastures, moderate stocking rates and with feed demand closely matched to the patterns of annual pasture growth. Corporate investors could aim at pasture-based dairy farm businesses milking 400 to 600 milking cows, that, with good management and staff and managing risk well, over a run o..