February / March 2010 - Australian Jersey Breeders Society

Carol & Neil Woodberry –
Mt Roland Jerseys
By Linda Houghton
Carol Woodberry used to eye-off the old dairy that sat
on the potato farm property that she and husband
Neil had purchased from his parents, which is 2 miles
out of Sheffield, in Tasmania. There was something
about the old herringbone 4-aside shed that kept
her thinking about having a go at dairying.
“We ran crops for 4 or 5 years, but I’d keep telling Neil
that we should fire-up the old dairy and milk cows –
but Neil would just insist that it was too much work.
In the end, it was our neighbour, Adrian Brown who
convinced us to have a go,” Carol said.
With both Carol and Neil coming from cattle and
dairy-farming backgrounds, they knew what they
were getting themselves into, but still found the
transition had it’s scary moments. “We had the
knowledge behind us, and our neighbour Adrian has
40 years of experience to share with us, so we took
the plunge in 2008 and bought some crossbreeds
and Holsteins to start us off. They started calving in
June, when we were expecting it all to happen in
August – we weren’t ready!” Carole laughs.
The plan was for Neil to continue full-time
driving log-trucks, and Carol would run the dairy
farm. However, Neil had a bad accident when
preparing a load of logs, and sustained a serious
neck injury. “While I was recovering at
home, I could see how much Carole
was struggling to handle such big
cows, and it was dangerous for her
at times, and they were also
bogging-up the laneways and
paddocks. So we sold off the
cross breeds and Holsteins
and bought in some Jerseys
– starting with 20 cows
bought locally, and then
a semi-load trucked and
shipped from Darryl Cole
– a breeder in Stanhope,
northern Victoria. We also
managed to buy another
20 at Colac from Kent
Tyson,” Neil said.
Now, the Woodberry’s herd
of 110 cows consists of 95
Jerseys and 15 cross-breeds,
with the intention to breed to a
full Jersey herd. “After switching
to a majority of Jerseys, we might
have 9,000 litres less in the vat,
but the level of financial return
remains the same, because of
the solids. We’ve even managed
to convert Adrian to Jerseys –
we showed him our milk statements, and now he’s
sold his whole herd, and bought a full Jersey herd to
replace them,” Carol said.
‘Adrian is a total convert – there is no doubt that
Jerseys give you a lot for your investment, as well as
lighten the work-load. Because they are easier to
handle, it makes everyday jobs simpler for me, and
my daughter Keryn is working with me full-time and
loves them as much as I do. Keryn also rears the
calves and helps me out in the shed, and Neil chips
in when he can,” Carole said.
Due to being involved in a second accident, Neil
recently spent 7 weeks in hospital, and then the
Woodberry’s barn burnt down. “You just have to
accept that you will have some tough times. We
managed to keep the farm running with some help –
and all we need now is a better milk price to reward
our efforts, and make this a viable and sustainable
business,” Neil said.
“I really love dairying and the cows – the only thing
that takes the shine off it is that we’re not making the
return that we should. It’s very frustrating, and you
feel powerless and unable to do something about
it,” Carol said.
The Mt Roland stud consists of a 165 acre home farm,
plus an additional 35 acres leased next door, and a
50 acre turn-out block up the road. “There are a few
dairy farms around us, and it’s beautiful country;
gentle slopes with a couple of hills and
we have Mt Roland in the background.
We’ve noticed the affects of drier
seasons as well, our annual rainfall has
dropped, and we’ve had to irrigate
more often,” Neil said.
Irrigation is by a travelling system
from a channel to the nearby
Whitehawk Creek, which the
Woodberry’s have some shares
in via the local Water Trust, plus
there is an on-farm dam.
“We grow about 80% of our
feed, and top up the cows by
giving them molasses lick-blocks in
the dairy, and they love those. It’s a
common and very funny sight to see
the 3 year old Jerseys lose their baby
teeth – and some of them get stuck in
the blocks,” Neil said.
The dairy has been upgraded to a
7-aside, which has been just enough to
increase efficiency without costing too
Neil & Carol with some of their jerseys. In
the back ground is Mount Roland.
JerseyJournal February / March 2010 — 7