Australian Dairy Industry
Farm Environment - Effluent, Fertiliser, Soils,
Water, Biodiversity and Energy
Environmental Issues
– Overview Dairying for Tomorrow
– Issue
• Regulation framework
• Industry activities
• How is the industry performing?
• Where next?
Dairying for Tomorrow
The Australian Dairy natural resource
management on-farm change program.
Based on collaborative partnerships
between the dairy industry, catchment
managers and regulators.
Over 40 projects involving Dairying for
Tomorrow decision support tools and
resources are currently being delivered
across Australia.
Key feature –supported networks and
professional development activities
Dairying for Tomorrow
1.
2.
3.
4.
About the program
Tackling specific issues
News and events
Current activities
Contacts
Regional NRM
reference groups
Water
Soils and fertilisers
Soil health
Effluent
Climate
Biodiversity
Waste
Publications
Reports
Case studies
Fact sheets
Fert$mart
Fert$mart planning
Information for
farmers
Information for
advisors
Soil testing
Tools
Professional
Development
Effluent systems
design
FertCare
Industry workshops
Tools and guidelines
Dairy SAT
Effluent Database
Climate Toolkit
DGAS -Farm carbon
calculator
Mortality composting
Riparian Assessment
Tool
Dairy Catchments
Assessment Tool
Effluent management
State regulation
– Guidelines (Victoria)
– Codes of practice (Queensland, SA, Tasmania &
WA)
– EPA (Victoria, SA and Tasmania)
– Resources
• Effluent and manure database for the Australian
Dairy Industry (Dairy Australia)
• BMPs – DairySAT (Dairy Australia)
• State guidelines & codes of practice (Industry,
State agencies and Food Safety Authorities)
• NCDEA effluent system design course
• Capacity building program
• Fact sheets, case studies
Environment Protection Authority - Victoria
.
– All effluent from the dairy, feedpads, standoff areas, underpasses and tracks
must be contained and reused (most commonly spread back on pastures
and crop).
– Effluent must not enter surface waters (including billabongs, canals, springs,
swamps, natural or artificial channels, lakes, lagoons, creeks and rivers).
– Runoff containing effluent must not leave the property boundary.
– Effluent must not enter ground waters either directly or through infiltration (for
example seepage from ponds).
– Effluent must not contaminate land (discharging effluent onto the same small
area over time will cause nutrient overload and contaminate land).
– Offensive odours must not impact beyond property boundaries.
Failure to meet these obligations will result in the EPA implementing
the enforcement policy, which has consequences ranging from a
warning, through improvement notices to fines or court action
Effluent management
How is the industry performing?
milking shed effluent system
Steady improvement
(base: all respondents)
100%
60%
2000
73% 75%
80%
2006
2012
54%
40%
27%
17%
15% 15%
20%
11% 8%
0%
pond system
sump and dispersal
system
drains directly to
paddocks
effluent management
(base: respondents for whom measure applies)
100%
89%
73%
80%
94%
79%
75%
60%
60%
54%
54%
43%
48%
40%
24%
16%
20%
20%
0%
dairy shed ponds
fed pad ponds
apply effluent to land
eff applied to diff areas
2000
2006
eff nutrient value tested
2012
Effluent management
How is the industry performing?
potential for effluent system improvement
(base: all respondents)
100%
Steady improvement
80%
60%
40%
48%
44%
20%
15%
17%
2006
2012
0%
made changes to effluent system in past 5 years
(base: all respondents)
2006
100%
2012
80%
54%
60%
46%
40%
52%
44%
38%
41%
36%
43%
40%
37%
41%
52%
48%
45%
49%
40%
33%
28%
20%
0%
national
murray
westvic
gipps
dairy nsw
sdp
sa
wa
tas
can improve
little
can improve
great deal
Effluent management
Current and future activities
Industry guidelines
– Update Effluent and Manure management database
– Develop NSW effluent guidelines in partnership with
government agencies
Capacity building
– Increase the number of certified effluent system designers
(Victoria, QLD and Tasmania)
– Establish an industry effluent communications group
– Collate and harmonise existing state extension materials
into a national resource
Research
– Industry manure calculators
– Environmental impacts of different manure management
systems
– Covered lagoon biodigesters
Fertiliser management
Industry programs
Fert$mart (Dairy Moving Forward – Dairy
Australia)
On farm change programs (over 30 currently)
Resources
• Fert$mart
• Fertiliser BMPs – DairySAT (Dairy Australia)
• Capacity building program
• Fact sheets, case studies
Research
Fertiliser management
conditions preventing urea application
(base: respondents using urea)
100%
How is the industry performing?
80%
60%
59%
50%
60%
40%
12%
20%
0%
Improving
paddocks too wet soil moisture
too drive on
limiting/conditions
too dry
weather is too no limiting factors
hot/ windy
– apply all year
round
method used to determine fertiliser /nutrient requirement
(base: all respondents)
confidence in advice
2000
100%
2006
2012
89%
80%
83% 82%
80%
80%
73%
66%
70% 70%
57%
60%
44%
38%
40%
28%
37%
39%
30% 30%
20%
12%
16%
16% 14%
10%
0%
soil test
own observation past experience
independent
consultant
fertiliser supplier nutrient budget
tissue test
dairy officer
(base: source advice from resellers, not
consultants, dairy officers)
confident
at all
fairly
1%
confident
not too
49%
confident
2%
confident
in some,
very
not
confident
others
45%
3%
Fertiliser management
Current and future activities
Fert$mart
Capacity building
– Increase the number of FertCare C certified advisors
– Greater emphasis on up skilling consultants and other
relevant service providers
On farm change programs
– Incorporate Fert$mart principles
– Greater involvement of consultants in delivery (Core4)
Fertilization
Urea Ammonium nitrate
immobilization
SOM
Research
– Nitrogen use efficiency ($7 Million program)
– Microbial influences on nitrogen plant uptake and loss
pathways
– Modelling and DSS
– Extension (evaluation and monitoring)
N fixation
NH4+
mineralization
nifH
N2
amoA
nitrification
immobilization
denitrification
NO2-
NO
nirK
nxr
Plant
uptake
N2O
cnorB
N2
nosZ
narG
NO3Leaching
NO3-, NO2-
Microbial functional gene
Soil management
Regulation
Land and water management plans (Whole
farm plans)
Industry programs
Fert$mart
On farm change programs
•Future Ready Dairy Systems
•Acid sulphate soils (SA)
•Whole Farm Planning – MDB
•Targets for change
Resources
•Soils BMP – DairySAT (Dairy Australia)
•Feedpad guidelines
•Issue specific fact sheets, case
studies, e.g. Managing wet soils
Research
Soil management
How is the industry performing? - Improving
major land issue
(base: all respondents)
2000
2006
2012
60%
39%
40%
36%
36% 37%
33%
30%
29%
22%
20%
21%
14%
14% 15%
16%
15%
8%
9%
10%
8%
5%
6%
7%
6%
4%
3%
3%
0%
wet soils pugging noxious weeds
insect pests
surface crusting/
soil compaction
soil acidity
soil erosion
dryland salinity irrigation induced
salinity
soil sodicity
acid sulphate
soils
have feed pad
(base: all respondents)
2000
50%
2012
38%
40%
34%
31%
30%
20%
2006
44%
23%
31%
31%
27%
26%
19% 18%
20%
17%
13%
12%
19%
31%
33%
30%
25%
21%
15% 16%
10%
13%
11% 12%
wa
tas
10%
0%
national
murray
westvic
gipps
dairy nsw
sdp
sa
“ despite these issues being mentioned as major land management issues, only very
small proportions of respondents say they do not have enough information or support
to deal with them”, DfT Survey 2012.
Water management
Regulation
– Murray Darling Basin Plan
– Rural Water Authorities
– Water licences
– Water trading
On farm change programs
•Northern Irrigation Renewal Program
•Queensland Dairyfarmers WUE program
•Water Stewardship pilot
•Lower Murray Swamps Renewal program
•Future Ready Dairy Systems
Resources
• Irrigation BMPs – DairySAT
•DPI Victoria – Irrigation
•DPI Victoria - Saving water in the dairy
•DSS Tools, Case studies
Research
Water management
% obtaining water from source
(base: respondents using source)
2006
2012
100%
80%
60%
40%
53%
38%
36%
28%
24%
22%
21%
27%
19%
23%
20%
2%
1%
0%
scheme allocation
purchased/ sales
groundwater
river/stream
on farm dam
other
average ML of water sourced
(base: respondents using source)
2006
600
505
2012
522
500
400
300
250
243
243
258
264
271
185
200
127
130
84
100
0
scheme allocation purchased/ sales
groundwater
river/stream
on farm dam
other
Water management
How is the industry performing? - Improved
% with some automation of irrigation system
(base: respondents from irrigation farms)
2006
2012
100%
80%
80%
70%
67%
66%
62%
60%
60%
54%
51%
47%
40%
60%
56%
46%
38%
35%
32%
21%
26%
23%
20%
0%
national
murray
westvic
gipps
irrigation system automation
(base: irrigators farms)
100%
74%
80%
63%
60%
40%
26%
20%
0%
flood
spray
pivot
dairy nsw
sdp
dairy sa
western dairy
dairy tas
Water management
Current and future activities
Capacity building
– Increased number of service providers who
understand linkages between irrigation delivery
systems, management requirements and peak water
demand by different forages
On farm change programs
– Improving irrigation performance:
focus on automation and irrigation scheduling
Research
– Precision irrigation application
– Improved automation technology
– Manipulating the forage canopy environment
with irrigation scheduling
Biodiversity
Regulation
– Anti -clearing rules
– Threatened species
Landcare
Industry on farm change programs
•GipRip
•Targets for change
•Nutrient management programs
Resources
•Native vegetation and waterways– DairySAT
•Dairy Riparian Assessment Tool
•Fact sheets
•Case studies
Research
Biodiversity
How is the industry performing? – Continuous Improvement
waterways fenced
waterways fenced
(base: respondents with naturally occurring waterways)
(base: respondents woith waterways)
100%
80%
43%
27%
19%
100%
19%
some
fenced
35%
20%
20%
16%
20%
26%
34%
most
fenced
28%
11%
13%
16%
15%
60%
25%
23%
18%
none
fenced
80%
18%
60%
40%
34%
2000
2006
2012
some
28%
most
25%
20%
40%
all
17%
20%
all fenced
37%
41%
medium
large
48%
22%
0%
0%
none
small
x-large
Biodiversity
implementing revegetation program
(base: all respondents)
100%
2000
74%
80%
60%
56% 55% 58%
64% 62%
59%
63%
67%
60%
62% 63%
70%
67%
61%
59%
52%
64% 65%
2006
2012
70%
49%
40%
31%
39% 37%
36%
28% 30%
20%
0%
national
murray
west vic
gipps
dairy nsw
sdp
sa
wa
tas
reasons for implementing revegetation program
(base: all respondents)
2000
100%
2006
2012
80%
60%
51%
49%
42%
45%
45%
40%
40%
38%
34%
25% 23%
26%
21%
22%
23%
19%
15%
20%
18%
15%
18%
12% 10%
3%
3%
2%
2%
1%
2%
0%
stock shade
windbreaks
property value
aesthetics
fauna corridors
improve
riverbanks
control soil
salinity
commercial
forestry
control soil
erosion
Energy
Industry on farm change programs
•Smarter energy use on Australian dairy farms
•DairyNSW dairy farm energy assessment program
•Future Ready Dairy Systems
•CowTime
Resources
•Energy BMPs- DairySAT
•Dairy shed energy assessment tools
•DPIV Energy Efficiency Resources
•Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Fact Sheets (SA)
•Energy (WA)
•Renewable energy scenario tools
•Fact sheets
•Case studies
Energy
How is the industry performing?
energy audit interest
(base: all respondents)
100%
80%
19%
60%
41%
40%
40%
32%
44%
41%
45%
18%
13%
9%
murray
west vic
gipps
47%
42%
66%
20%
20%
national
30%
28%
0%
18%
14%
dairy nsw
not had audit but
interested
sdp
sa
wa
energy audit
conducted
tas
implemented strategy as result of audit
(base: respondents having energy audit conducted)
100%
80%
22%
60%
31%
40%
34%
27%
33%
17%
33%
60%
plan to
implement
strategy
40%
20%
48%
48%
43%
48%
52%
55%
62%
44%
20%
0%
national
murray
west vic
gipps
dairy nsw
sdp
sa
wa
tas
implemented
strategy
Energy
100%
renewable energy systems
(base: all respondents )
80%
60%
40%
40%
18%
20%
15%
15%
1%
<1%
<1%
wind turbines
variable speed
milk pump
mini hydro
0%
renewable
energy
installation
heat pumps
solar water
heating
solar
photovoltaic
“Over 150 activities, with approximately 4,600 farmer and service provider attendees.
100% of farmers attending events thought the topics were relevant and 94% of farmer
attendees said they learnt something from the FRDS event they can use on their
property.” Watson, P and Watson, D. 2012 MAADI Evaluation