Nation-leading research conducted at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture' s Dairy Research Facility in North-West Tasmania has been given a boost with a major research project extended for an additional 12 months.
The good news was shared with farmers and industry leaders gathered at the annual Field Day held at the TIA Dairy Research Facility at Elliott on 19 February 2025.
"Dairy HIGH 2 (short for 'high integrity grass-fed herds') is a flagship research partnership between the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture and Dairy Australia – and we are pleased to announce this partnership has been extended thanks to a $1.2 million joint investment. The program will now continue for an additional 12 months until September 2026," Professor Mike Rose, TIA Director, said.
Dairy HIGH 2 focusses on feedbase research to help dairy farmers maintain efficient, profitable and sustainable pasture based dairy systems into the future. As part of the program, a research trial has been established at TIA's Dairy Research Facility under real farm conditions to explore ways of reducing the amount of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser used on dairy farms.
"The dairy farmlet trial has an ambitious target to help farmers halve the amount of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser used on their farms while continuing to produce 20 tonnes of dry matter per hectare on irrigated pastures," Professor Rose said.
"The results so far are promising and data from the first season of the farmlet trial indicates that it is possible to meet high targets for pasture and milk solid production while applying less nitrogen and utilising mixed pasture species including clover.
"We are eager to see how the farmlets perform over multiple seasons. The extension of this program will allow us to collect three years of replicated herd data to clearly identify the opportunities and challenges of reducing synthetic nitrogen fertiliser."
The TIA Dairy Research Facility Field Day is an annual event that brings together dairy farmers, industry leaders, researchers, and policymakers to discuss the latest research and innovations in dairy farming.
The event features expert presentations and farm walks on key topics including virtual fencing technology, reducing livestock emissions, pasture and soils productivity, dairy business benchmarking, and reducing synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.
The total value of the Dairy HIGH 2 partnership is $7.7 million between 2020 and 2026. The partnership is funded by Dairy Australia and the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture.
