Dairy History

Up until 2007 Shaun and Fiona share milked on the original family farm. This was becoming a logistical night mare with four different properties requiring four different styles of management also with four different ownership entities.

It was decided that the company Oropi Bushlands would lease all the family owned farmland for the sole purpose of dairying. Shaun and Fiona were retained as managers. As Oropi Bushlands was not cash rich and cows were in great demand it was agreed that they would not purchase Shaun and Fiona's original herd as the value was too great. Oropi Bushlands purchased 180 empty, young, high BW cows in March and April 2007 and milked them through the winter months with the majority of the animals still in milk well into the 2007/2008 season. Added to that were the cows from Shaun and Fiona's herd that hadn't calved when the herd sold at their spring sale.

Now the 2009/2010 season once again holds changes. Due to further farm expansion we will run three herds one after the other through our one shed. Two herds comprising of of 250 empty cows will milk twice daily 365 days of the year, each with its own Herd Manager and designated farm areas. Another herd of 350 seasonal milk cows will be milked once a day in between the twice daily milked cows. This herd will be walked from a newly purchased boundering property run by a Farm Manager.