Trusting facts and figures

In fact, Bryan says he hasn’t got a particularly good eye for selecting cows.

Instead, he relies on facts and figures and says that genomics and sexed semen have proven to be the perfect combination for creating a top ABV herd.

Bryan admits he wasn’t much good at school, except when it came to maths, and excelling in that field is handy when it comes to using data for breeding.

He’s also been keen to adopt new technologies and took up genomics from near the start.

Each ABV release seems to feature Emu Banks, but Bryan said topping the lists wasn’t necessarily his goal.

“It’s nice to have the number one herd, but it’s not the end of the world either way,” he said.

“There’s no real difference between being number one or number two, as long as you’ve got reasonable cows and they’re doing well in the dairy.”

The family has been farming west of Terang since 1989 when Bryan’s parents Graeme and Shirley Dickson moved from Bacchus Marsh, taking over a 202ha dairy farm, running 240 cows.

The herd steadily increased to 420 cows during the late 90s with leases and other farms also purchased.

In 2002, a new 60-unit rotary dairy was built, and in 2003, Bryan and Jo purchased the neighbouring 121ha and began leasing the home farm from Graeme and Shirley, running the two farms as a combined unit. The herd increased to 650 by 2006 on 323ha.

In September 2009, Bryan and Jo purchased a 202ha farm at Glenfyne, where they ran 300 Holstein-Jersey crosses until selling the property in 2019.

They now own 485ha and lease a further 200, milking 950-1000 cows. The vast majority are Holsteins, but there are about 40 Jerseys and 40 Swiss, along with two Illawarras.

It was originally a mixed herd, but when they built the dairy, they often found two Jerseys fitting in one bale. After selling Glenfyne, they went out of Jerseys, but subsequently bought some back into the herd.

“We feed them better now so they fit better in the dairy,” Bryan said.

Bryan and Jo don’t know how many times Emu Banks has topped the ABVs.

“We first did it in 2015, but then we went from 700 to 1000 cows, so we dropped back for a few years,” Jo said.

“When we started, we were lucky to be in the top hundred, but we’ve been in the top 10 since 2015, and top or in the top few in recent years.”

Bryan said the successful formula was simple — using genomics and sexed semen.

“Sexed semen gives me the number of animals, genomics gives me the accuracy to pick which ones to keep,” he said.

The girls also go through the heifers and select on poor conformation.

“I know a bad cow compared to a good cow, but I couldn’t line up cows at dairy week. I have to analyse the statistics. I’m not very good at picking cows, so I like numbers.

Emu Banks started genomics in 2008.

“I was on the Genetics Australia board when I got involved in genomics,” Bryan said.

“The department was trialling it with Genetics Australia around 2008.

“There was a lot of trial and error, but it kept getting better and more accurate.”

Bryan joined the Holstein Australia board about a year ago.

In Holstein ABVs, Emu Banks is regularly number one, while in Jerseys, they are usually second to White Star Jerseys, about 15km away at Noorat.

In addition to their regular ABV successes, the family started showing cows in 2012 at the Melbourne Royal Show with immediate success, winning intermediate champion.

Emu Banks continues to perform well at regional shows.

Bryan doesn’t worry about being classed as a master breeder, an honour he says he’s unlikely to achieve because he exports and sells too many heifers.

“I’d sooner take the money,” he said.

“Exporting is part of the game to get the best cows. I only keep the best third of the heifers I breed. The goal was to have a good herd and that’s what we’ve got.”

Calving was traditionally in autumn, but with such a big herd, it’s now spread across the year.

For the past five years, they have used 100 per cent sexed semen.

“We keep every animal that’s born, sell bulls to AI and sell other herd bulls and all are genomically tested and registered.

“It takes time to feed 12-hour old calves properly, about 20 minutes on average, and that’s why we spread to take the pressure off.

Our biggest days might be 20 to 25, so it gives you time to properly feed them.”

Emu Banks continues to access the export market and also has a good local selling market.

In spring, the cows feed on the abundant home-grown grass, supplemented by grain, but the rest of the year they have access to a feed pad, and over summer, have a total mixed ration.

The Dicksons employ staff, expanding to eight when calving in March-April.

Their four daughters, Rachel, Jacque, Anna and Leah, help out and like the farm, but Bryan and Jo are keen for them to experience other careers before deciding if they want to pursue the business.

Bryan, 53, hasn’t milked regularly for the past two years, he helps out a couple of times a month now.

“I’ve got no interest in doing seven-days-a-week, 100-hour weeks,” he said.

“That was part of the reason for getting rid of the other farm. I used to milk a lot down there and it was hard to find staff.”

He won’t retire until their daughters are ready to consider their future options, and could look at selling or dividing the farm.

As for the basics of being a successful farmer, Bryan said it was simple — keep your costs below your income.

“We feed a lot so our costs are reasonably high, but we produce a lot,” Bryan said.

“In the early days I was low production, low cost, but with the genomics, I had really good cows and wanted them to produce more.”

They now produce about 700kg/MS and 9000 litres per cow, including the Jerseys and Swiss.

While dairying has been good to the family, Bryan said the industry could be tough.

“We can be very efficient on farm, but once our products leave our farm, it becomes extremely inefficient by world standards.”