Two dairy farms in the lush Goulburn Valley in Victoria supply the majority of milk to Jalna.

The Leslie farm is family-owned and run. Its herd of Holstein cows produce the milk for Jalna Yoghourts. Nearby Jalna owns its own BioDynamic farm where mainly Holstein Fresians produce the milk for the Jalna BioDynamic Organic range. Both dairy farms aim to be self sufficient, with feed pasture-grown on the farms.

Peter Smith and Don Leslie came to dairy farming from very different backgrounds, but they have a surprising amount in common.

Dairy farming was a way of life for Don Leslie, who, together with wife Norma and their sons Dean and Keith run the Leslie Farm near Shepperton and for over 9 years has supplied their milk to Jalna.

Peter Smith and his family - wife Melinda, daughters Mikahl and Rebekah and son Hew - had a ‘tree change’ when they took up farming. Peter was a cray-fisherman in Tasmania, but has now embraced BioDynamic dairying, running Jalna’s BioDynamic farm near Echuca.

Black and white Cows

Don Leslie is justifiably proud of his Holstein dairy herd. Don, together with wife Norma and sons Dean and Keith run the Leslie Dairy Farm in the heart of dairying in Victoria.

Don says he “always had a fad for the black and whites, and only ever wanted to go out and farm. I know nothing but dairying”. But that underestimates just how knowledgeable he is on his subject.

“Thorough research on breeding lines in New Zealand, Canada and North America helps us continually improve the quality of the herd – and the volume of milk we can supply to meet the growing demand for Jalna Yoghourt,” said Don Leslie.

Awards

His children also share his passion for this ‘black and white’ dairy breed. Each January the Leslie family competes in the prestigious International Dairy Week in Tatura. Son Brian, a leading stock auctioneer, helps groom and present the cows. “There’s a lot to showing,” explains Don Leslie. “How they stand properly, with the correct confirmation. It takes a lot of work.”

The walls of the family farmhouse are crowded with prize banners and awards reflecting his dedication to breeding the very best Holsteins.

In 1996 Don Leslie won ‘Champion Cow’ at the Melbourne Show for the third year in a row, and more recently the ‘Most Successful Breeder’ and ‘Champion Holstein’ at International Dairy Week. The prices achieved for the champion heifers he’s exported to Japan also attest to his success.

Pasture grown

According to Don Leslie, quality milk production is dependent on feeding. “You have to feed to capacity,” says Don. “After milking, the cows are given maize and grass silage, before going out to the field to graze.

“During the summer months the cows stay close to the home paddock after morning milking so they aren’t stressed by walking far in the heat. In the evenings when it has cooled down they graze on fresh grass in other paddocks on the farm.

“We aim for self sufficiency, with the feed pasture grown on the farm. We cut the grass three times during the growing season, and bail it for silage and grow maize and corn for winter feeding,” Don Leslie explains.

Peter and Melinda Smith run Jalna’s BioDynamic Organic farm with a gentle herd of mainly Holstein Fresian cows to milk each day. According to Melinda, the best thing about BioDynamic farming is that nothing is ever the same. “Every day and every season brings something different,” she explains. “There’s no fixed routine. Every year is different to the previous. There’s always new challenges.”

Peter believes that not coming from a conventional farming background made it easier to embrace BioDynamic organic dairying, and says the family has enjoyed their five years working on the Jalna farm.

BioDynamic farming has been described as ‘advanced organic practices’ – it aims to farm in harmony with nature. Like organic farming, crops are grown and processed without the use of synthetic chemicals, fertilisers or GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and emphasis is placed on animal welfare. With BioDynamic Organic farming additional techniques are employed to stimulate and maintain the natural biological activity of the soil – a pre-requisite for any sustainable agricultural system. Healthy soil means healthy plants, animals and people.

A way of life

Peter Smith has observed the improvements on Jalna’s BioDynamic farm since he’s been working there. “The root structure is not out of balance, we’re not destroying soil. You can see the water is getting down, penetrating, so when it rains it doesn’t just run across the top of a hard paddock,” Peter says.

BioDynamic dairying particularly focuses on using natural ways of protecting and nurturing the cows, to avoid stress. These farming practices are far more labour intensive, but as Melinda explains "it's not a job, it’s a way of life."

Read more about Jalna’s BioDynamic farm.