When you get Ross Ingamells, of Invergordon, talking about his Waste-Not Fair-Go feed pad, it’s hard to stop him.

“I can’t begin to tell you of all the small things that have come from the move to the feedpad, as well as saving wasted hay and increasing production.” says Ross.

“The Waste-Not philosophy appealed to me when I saw it years ago at a field day. It all came to a head, with the drought pending, that we would soon be feeding out of hundreds of tonnes of hay. Brenda and I both decided, as we were committed to thousands of dollars of hay, that we needed to do something to utilise the feed better and avoid wastage.”

Waste-Not feed panels are constructed with individual feeding spaces, between steel arches, which act as a voluntary head bail, so that uneaten feed falls back into the feeder. Importantly, it largely eliminates bossing and bullying. Each animal gets its fair ration, and trampling or soiling of feed will be minimal.

The size of the feedpad is calculated to take three sides of the dairy at any one time, and that gives the cows 15 – 25 minutes of eating time. The Ingamells’ feedpad has 48 per side.

The feedpad, on average, requires restocking approximately every four to five days. This allows the cows to clean up all the hay in that time.

The feeders are designed to ensure that all the feed is contained in the unit and eating takes place within the feeder. A skirt eliminates valuable leaf being blown away by wind or trampled into the mud or dust. The stock have access to all the valuable protein which enhances weight gain, and many farmers claim feed savings of up to 30 or 40%.

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Ross came to dairy farming at Invergordon 15 years ago with his parents, Alva and Harold. It was a lifestyle change from Pakenham where they ran a part-time property, showing and breeding Saler cattle. Harold worked as an engineer for GMH, Alva a nurse, and Ross as a fitter and turner.

The encroaching suburbia of south-eastern Melbourne had made them look further afield and as Ross says: “We’d dabbled a bit in farming and dairying seemed a good idea at the time.”

They took over the farm, which was 100 acres at the time, milking the 78 cows that came with the place, on a seven unit double-up shed. “The herd was about 15% Jerseys; 20% Friesians and the rest were crossbreeds. We renovated the shed in the same season up to an eight unit double-up.” The shed has since had a major upgrade to a 16 double-up in 2001. Ross, who predominantly milks by himself, worked without automatic cluster removers until about four years ago.

Soon after they moved here they bought an adjoining 46 acres, then a 120 acre outblock, nine kilometres away. This was normally used for wintering the dry cows, but the bulls and steers are on there this year.

Easy in, easy out

Ross and Brenda bought the place from Harold and Alva in 2002. Ross runs the operation on his own, with Brenda helping out when she can. She also works two days a week at the catholic school in Numurkah. Family is an important part of the Ingamells farm life. Their two children, Peter, 8 and Marlee, 6 both love to help out when at home. One of the things they love to help with is to “hunt the cows out” of the A or B side of the feedpad. They simply pull the long handled wire, which opens the gate at the other end. Once hearing the gate open most of the cows just turn and walk away from the pad. The kids only have to “hunt” the stragglers out.

Ross and Brenda are very thankful for their retired dairy farmer neighbours, who come in as relief milkers at holiday time, as well as looking after the day-to-day heifer management. Ross admits that the farm runs smoothly because Brenda is in charge of the bookwork and planning, keeping it all filed and organised as it should be.

They were milking up to 200 cows when they took over ownership, but the drought pushed them down to 110, then back up to 160 the next season and 180 now. The herd is self-replacing and Ross says that it is 35% Friesian now, with about 3% Jerseys and the rest crossbreeds, and he’ll be keeping most of them this year. “We only bought one animal in the last ten years, and that was a Jersey bull. The average cow quality is rising, I firmly believe in managing the breeding ourselves.”

“The philosophy on the genetics has generally been Dad’s domain. We’ve been looking for predominantly black cows, to reduce the cancer risk, plus high fertility, - that’s why we have a lot of crossbreds. Good strong udders are important, and traits to keep them eating during the heat. But that part is hard to work out.

“We like good strong cows, nuggetty but not huge, with good figures.”

The feed pad was ready for the cows on 20th October last year. It was very timely as they were reaching their peak production and Ross was struggling to get the feed into them.

“When we were planning where to situate the feedpad, at first, we were thinking we may not have the area available. After many discussions, Brenda said – “Why not just run it on an angle from the dairy, across the unused small paddock, towards the main lane.” – and that’s what we did!”

Understanding Cow Behaviour is Important

They started the earthworks in early October 2006. It is an important process, to get the correct fall for drainage; grading and rolling the rock for an adequate base for the feedpad. Ross says that it came together very quickly: “It’s all in how you set it up. You need to have enough space for the cows to get in comfortably and move around behind others to get to the feed pad. It has to be close to the shed, it utilised the space better than I had expected.”

“This system is all about natural cow progression; you get a better understanding about cow behaviour. When they are coming in for milking, they walk right beside the feedpad, so they can look in it and see the hay. You see the cows’ attitude change. They know the feed is waiting for them. It all comes down to cow psychology. The first feed is in the bail, the second one at the feed pad, a drink at the water trough, and the third is in the paddock.

“The idea is to have a water trough approx. 200 metres away from the feedpad, and that is important. The cows are looking for a drink after the feedpad, so after their feed time is up, they are drawn away from the pad to have a drink, without congestion, then go on into the paddock.”

“The main thing is getting around the concept of how it fits into your system of working. I can watch the cows from the shed while I am milking. I’m impressed with the improved cow and heifer behaviour, and the routine suits the way I work. One of the advantages of the system is that you can run through the heifers and springers. It has proved to be a good exercise for the heifers, giving them a good feed and also familiarising them with the procedure near the dairy. Also if you run the springers through the pad, it gives you a good chance to look at the ones due to calve.”

Feeding the Cows Better

“I’ve got to say about this system – at first, it is hard for the average farmer, like me, to grasp the whole concept. The cows are definitely feeding better than before – the heifers are in good condition and are getting a fair go at the hay and silage. In a drought, especially, it is hard to believe that the protein and butterfat results are at their best.”

Prior to the feedpad being installed, protein was 3.09 and butterfat at 3.19. In August this year, protein had jumped to 3.54 and butterfat 4.22. Ross feels that the cows are definitely being fed properly and more accurately. Average litres are holding firm at 26-27 litres. Averages at August last year were just nearing 20 litres.

The Ingamells herd test monthly and after eleven months on the feed pad they are averaging 6295 litres a year, with 465kgs of solids. They have been consistently in premium milk with Murray-Goulburn.

Another benefit that Ross is adamant about is better conception rates. “The cows are fed right; we had 15 empties instead of the usual 20 to 30. Calving and joining was a non-event compared with previous years because of the more reliable diet. The cows just get more feed in and this has helped their condition. I think most farmers, like me in the past, may not realise that they could be underfeeding their cows. I have always tried to get as much into the cows in the paddock; it was about 30% of their dry matter feed – however, since the drought and the feedpad, the paddock portion of their diet is now about 15%.”

Ross made 130 rolls of sub-clover hay this year.

“There’s no silage, not enough water.

The paddock rotation is 17 to 18 days; they currently access two acres of pasture per day.” He is giving them 4½kgs of pellets per day in the bale, this will go up to 6kgs when there is no green feed.

Ross finds that 8’ x 4’ x 3’ square bales are best for the feedpad, however most of the hay last year was in rolls – usually wheaten and oaten hay, triticale and lucerne but, he says: “We haven’t been able to get lucerne hay this year. A bit less than one-third will be canola silage, about one-third wheaten hay, and the rest is our own good quality sub-clover.”

Simplicity and Better Decision-making

“I’m open to all possibilities, and the move to the feedpad has certainly changed the way we farm. We made only a slight loss last year, drought and all. Production is definitely up. It has lifted the tail out of the herd production, that is, the two and three year olds are now producing more as a percentage of the herd. The bellowing is less and there is less bullying. The bullied ones have the security of knowing that they will get something at the feed pad; if they can’t get a lick of pellets, they know they won’t miss out.”

“It gives me more time to look at our cows while I’m still doing something and getting jobs done. It’s really important in regards to identifying cows’ health. It’s also easy to pinpoint the rogue cows. Most of the cows that I select to be culled are separated from the herd and left in the pad, until its time to be transported.”

Ross Ingamells says, as with any system, there are some downsides. “It took the cows a little time to be settled with the procedure, and to get into a routine. However, once the initial learning process was over, they were as good as gold. It takes me about 10 to 15 minutes extra per milking, but you make that up by being able to catch cows to AI. Also time saving is obvious, not having to feed out in the paddock. Believe it or not, there seems to be more time for other jobs. The savings all round are much higher than I thought they’d be.”

“I’m just happy when everything is running smoothly - it just makes for better decisions. It’s all about simplicity ... and opening up your options.”