SOCIAL PHOTOS: WAFarmers Dairy Conference in Busselton

The room was full and the mood upbeat when the State’s biggest congregation of dairy farmers gathered in Busselton for the WAFarmers Dairy Conference against a backdrop of rising milk prices.

The one-day event attracted more than 100 people to Abbey Beach Resort on July 21 for a day spent pondering the future of local milk production in what is being regarded as a positive time for the industry after a turbulent few years.

Western Dairy held a business breakfast the morning of the conference, setting a good tone for a day that also included the launch of the WA Dairy Five-Year Industry Development Plan.

WA Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan opened the event and launched the plan, before presentations focused on the input costs, the benefits of milk, and carbon farming, among other topics.

The day was rounded out with an information session on foot-and-mouth disease, co-ordinated by WAFarmers and Western Dairy and including speakers with first-hand experience with FMD.

The panel included FarmWest cattle genetics and technical adviser Michael Rose, Smart Cow Consulting silage expert Dario Nandapi from Binninup, along with ALIS consulting consultant Jeisane Accioly, DPIRD livestock identification and traceability manager Beth Green, Dairy Australia issues manager Ashlee Hammond, and Australian Dairy Farmers’ strategy and policy director Craig Hough.

During the WAFarmers dairy council annual general meeting, Ian Noakes retained his position as president but the group continues its search for a vice-president.