Farm Visit in Dungog, New South Wales | Education

Farm Visit

Locality: Dungog, New South Wales

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• Dairy farm

25.01.2022 Happy calves enjoying a cooler day today... These are some of our little ones who are nearly 2 months old. They grow up so fast! There's no babies for a few weeks now as we take a break from calving. It means time to clean and disinfect the calf shed between iriigation shifts. Unfortunately it also means that we will be closed to visitors for a couple of weeks. But don't worry! We're aiming for a couple of open days in November and the dates for those will be out very soon ... Make sure you add yourself to our mailing list to be the first to know when we're opening! See you on farm soon! See more

25.01.2022 We've had some of the cutest little calves born this week...just in time for this weekends visitors! There's more on the way too, and they should be here by our school holiday open days. Have you got your tickets yet? http://www.trybooking.com/BLIUK

24.01.2022 Fresh out of the oven thismorning! Just in time to meet this week's visitors

24.01.2022 "Aaw Mum, you dropped me in the dirt!" Little Miss Valentine joined the babies in the shed today to bring the total to 4 for the week!! There's another one not too far away too so the calf shed is going to be chock-a-block full for our visitors this weekend. Have you got your tickets yet?? Bookings close tomorrow so get in quick!

23.01.2022 We've had some fantastic rain this week at the dairy! It has been, and continues to be absolutely beautiful. Rain at this time of year means a lot more for farmers than puddles to jump in. It means that the summer grasses begin to grow and thrive and the last of the winter grasses are sustained for longer. It means there's no gap between the winter feed running out and the summer feed starting to grow. And it means that there's moisture in the ground ready for our summer crops. Along with the rain came our first calf in a few weeks. After a little break from calving it's nice to have this handsome man in the calf shed greeting us every morning. November opening dates coming soon!

23.01.2022 There's lots of cows due to calve this week which means lots of calves in the shed to meet our visitors next weekend One more week until our final opening days of the year and we are so excited! Have you got your tickets yet? https://www.trybooking.com/BMOQY

23.01.2022 It's been a wild day at the dairy today with a chilly wind almost blowing us away! It couldn't stop the fun though, with a lovely family enjoying a 2 hour tour that included calf feeding, cheese tasting and watching the cows get milked. As the wind starts to die down and the calves are fed it's nice to stop for a moment and take stock of the beautiful green grass, happy healthy calves and the day that was. Thanks so much to today's visitors for braving the weather and making the trip to the dairy! Hopefully some better weather tomorrow for our Sunday sessions

20.01.2022 Throwback to some of our fantastic sessions earlier this year and getting excited to host our final opening days for 2020! BOOKINGS ESSENTIAL! https://www.trybooking.com/BMOQY

20.01.2022 Little Spot is the only baby in the calf shed at the moment. October is a bit quiet for calves with only one due to be born this week. So it's spring cleaning time for the shed! Out with the old bedding, the rails get a good scrub and the floor is limed to kill bacteria and dry it up thoroughly. Spot will be looking forward to having a friend in the shed with her but for now it's the safest place for her to be

20.01.2022 We're over the moooon to announce our September/October 2020 school holiday opening dates. Check out https://www.trybooking.com/BLIUK for dates and more info. See you on-farm soon!

20.01.2022 A few showers of rain today couldn't dampen our spirits! Our visitors enjoyed a 2 hour tour from 1pm which meant that they were spoilt with cheese tasting, butter churning and seeing the cows milked during afternoon milking. Thanks to this weekend's visitors for making our weekend so much fun!

19.01.2022 **TWINS** Yesterday we welcomed this gorgeous pair to the farm. The heifer (standing) is doing great! She was born without a hitch and up running around within a short time. Her brother is having a hard time getting used to life outside the womb. He entered the world backwards and had some trouble getting going and his legs aren't functioning properly due to the fact that it was pretty squishy inside mum. They will come good with some TLC from us but both of these calves need special care and attention from our amazing team of staff and they will get it for sure!

19.01.2022 Yesterday was a hot day! So hot in fact that these girls decided it was a good day for a dip. It was tempting to go in after them but the idea of milking in wet jeans wasn't very appealing. They got out in their own time...nice and cool and ready to be milked

18.01.2022 7am and the sun is already high in the sky. The cows walk slowly down to today's paddock for a breakfast of sweet green grass. After some hot days followed by a week of wet weather their production is down a bit this week. Their feet are a bit sore from walking through mud and they've used extra energy over the last few days to keep their bodies warm. They will enjoy a warm dry day today!

17.01.2022 Welcome to the world little Miss Alice

17.01.2022 The girls are all milked and a paddock of lush green grass awaits! Apparently though, these girls would like another go round...

17.01.2022 "You're late! Please let us in." A heavy shower of rain has brought the girls home for milking but we're not quite ready yet. With the constant rain the laneway has just about washed away and is in desperate need of some maintenance and we won't be milking until that job is done and we can be sure the cows aren't going to hurt their sore, soft feet anymore by walking out of the dairy. Prolonged wet weather makes the cows' feet soft and the mud covers sharp rocks underneath. ...It's very easy to end up with lots of cows with very sore feet and is very important that we do everything we can to prevent that. Cows with sore feet don't want to walk to the paddock to where the grass is, don't want to stand in the paddock to graze and can end up losing alot of condition because they're not eating enough lush green grass. The feet are one of the most important parts of the cows See more

16.01.2022 It's not very often the cows actually calve on their due date. But beautiful Lyn has kicked off calving for 2021 right on time bringing this little guy into the world yesterday. He's certainly like his mum and so very cute! Lyn was so excited to join her herd again as a milking cow, happily wondering down to the paddock with the rest of the girls after being milked yesterday afternoon. Welcome back Lyn!

16.01.2022 Happy cows on their way to the paddock. It's going to be a gorgeous day!

16.01.2022 In 2 days the fertiliser we applied to this paddock yesterday will be fully dissolved from the rain and taken up by the plants roots. The dark green circles caused by the cows urinating and pooing in the paddock will disappear and the grass will all be a lovely healthy green. In 14 days the paddock will be out of the fertiliser withholding period meaning that it's safe for the cows to eat. Photosynthesis will have allowed the plants to utilise the nitrogen applied in the fer...tiliser converting it to protein in the grass. In 21 days the grass will be at its optimum growth stage and ready to feed off. The leaves of the grass will be at the right width and length allowing the cows to get optimum nutrition out of consuming it and also allowing the plants to recover quickly and start growing again. The cycle will begin again with fertiliser applied following rain and a further 21 days allowed for this paddock to grow before it is used. A dairy farmers' main job is growing grass. There's a whole science behind it that you don't find out until you rely on it to provide feed for your cows. It certainly keeps us very busy and is something we are always learning more and more about.

15.01.2022 We are looking for a first year trainee to begin immediately. Duties will involve general farm work, rearing calves to ensure they reach growth targets, focusing on animal welfare and health, some tractor work and milking of cows. Certificate III in agriculture will be completed via Tocal College. Early morning starts are part of the job. Own transport is essential and accommodation within a short distance. There is no accommodation available on farm.... School based traineeship possible for year 11 student interested in working in agriculture and food production.

15.01.2022 We had some of the cutest little visitors today! With more questions than we could answer and so much curiosity they certainly kept us busy Thanks to everyone who visited the dairy today! Another session tomorrow will make 3 for the weekend and we can only hope it's another gorgeous day like today #hunterhunter #visitdungog #newywithkids #aussiedairy #freshmilk #visitnsw

14.01.2022 This gorgeous little lady came into the world this week...just in time to meet out school holiday visitors! She is loving life, bouncing around her pen at feeding time and guzzling her milk down as quick as a flash! She is an Illawarra heifer - one of the breeds of dairy cows that we breed on our dairy. We love the red cows. They make the cutest little calves and have lovely temperaments!

14.01.2022 We've had some terrific visits this week for the first week of school holidays! It's so much fun connecting with the people who buy the product we work so hard to make every day and teaching everyone about what we do and why we do it We're busy busy busy for the next few days making hay, milking cows and watering the grass in the paddocks to keep it growing until it rains again. From Saturday until Tuesday next week we'll be open to visitors again for our final school holiday tours. Have you booked your tickets yet? Http://www.trybooking.com/BLIUK

14.01.2022 It's a big day for these girls. They have been away on agistment since the worst part of the drought as we did not have enough grass to feed them. The drought has taken it's toll on them and they haven't grown as much as they should have. We'll feed them now on the lush rye grass that's growing in the paddocks that we've planted, fertilized and irrigated for several months to provide feed for all of our other young heifers. Once they're big enough they will meet Nigel, our Angus bull who is only too happy to befriend them so that they can one day have a calf and join the milking herd

13.01.2022 Beautiful Tully calved this week bringing this handsome man into the world. This will be Tully's third calf and we're so excited to welcome her back to the milking herd. Her little man is doing fantastically! He's in the shed with the other little calves, nice and dry and out of the heat we are expecting today with a full belly of Tully's fresh milk. What shall we call such a cute little fella?

13.01.2022 This little guy was born over the weekend and is finding his feet. With a full belly of mumma's fresh colostrum he managed to sleep right through all our visits on Sunday. He's a bit of a cutie!

13.01.2022 As the weather turns hot and dry it starts to get harder to make milk. The winter grasses that we planted in autumn start to go to seed in the heat. When this happens the plants start to put their energy into the seed head and become stalky rather than lush and leafy. At this point the grass looses the nutrition that was so bountiful just a few weeks ago and lacks the protein and energy that the cows need. So begins the balancing act of providing the nutrition that the cows r...equire to replace what they are putting out through milk production. Protein meal will be added to the grain fed in the dairy to fill the gaps and the grain ration may have to go up to provide more energy. In the next few weeks we will start sowing again. This time it will be millet, sorghum and cow peas- crops that thrive in summer that will provide the cows nutrition throughout the hot part of the year. For now though, it's time to irrigate! Watering the winter grasses to keep them growing will slow down the seed development. The less stressed the plants are, the more leaf they will grow and the longer they will provide good feed for the cows. #feedthecowstomakethemilk #aussiefarmers #whitegold #freshmilk #devondale #lovewhatwedo See more

12.01.2022 Before daylight yesterday morning 1728 brought her first little bub into the world. Now she has become a dairy cow. Yesterday she produced about 12 litres of lovely colostrum, today she'll produce a bit more and tomorrow a bit more again until her production peaks in about 6 weeks. She's a bit sore and will be for a couple of days as her udder gets used to producing milk. But with all her milk harvested and some heat rub on her udder to help with the swelling, she's quite happy to wonder down to the paddock to enjoy some breakfast with her friends

11.01.2022 There's a blizzard happening above us on the Barringtons today. It means a chilly wind is blowing on the farm. We'll be hiding in the calf shed for today's sessions, out of the wind with the little baby calves. And then to the dairy for this afternoon's milking with our final visitors for the day. Bring your jackets, scarves and beanies! Winter is making its last hurrah!!

09.01.2022 Only a handful of tickets still available for this weekends visits and only for a short time!! Get in quick https://www.trybooking.com/BMOQY These will be the last bookings for 2020! See you soon

08.01.2022 Oh Lily you have stolen our hearts! What a precious little girl you are

08.01.2022 Add yourself to our mailing list to stay up to date with opening dates and sessions times

08.01.2022 Food glorious food! One of the best parts of our program is always making and tasting fresh butter. There's nothing quite like it! Our guests who come for a 2 hour session also get to try different cheeses and everyone gets a nice cold milk popper to enjoy. Yesterday we also hosted our final Picnic in the Paddock. It's been a fabulous collaboration with Newcastle based caterers Fresh and Delish Grazing Tables and we look forward to working with them again in the future! #freshanddelish #Devondale #freshbutter #gourmetdelights #cheese #visitdungog #visitnsw #newiwithkids #MadeFromScratch

06.01.2022 We are incredibly lucky to have an amazing team working on our dairy farm! We all work very hard to produce the highest quality milk that we can every day. This means happy healthy cows, growing good feed for the cows and looking after them the best we can. This month we have achieved the second highest quality milk in all the NSW Devondale suppliers! Well done team!

05.01.2022 What an absolutely gorgeous day to visit the farm! Today we welcomed 3 separate groups for a 9am, an 11am and a 1pm session. We fed the calves, met some cows, churned and tasted fresh butter and had lots of fun! Thanks everyone who visited this weekend! We still have a couple sessions available in September. Check out http://www.trybooking.com/BJQRH for more info

04.01.2022 We were very lucky to work with these 2 very talented women to bring our visitors to the farm the Picnic In The Paddock which was thoroughly enjoyed for several months this year. Check out their brand new website! We can highly recommend their grazing boxes and grazing tables. They are absolutely delicious!!!

04.01.2022 This little lady is getting very close to having her very first little calf. Her udder is now fully formed, ready to produce milk. She has quite a bit of swelling- typically an indication that she will be a high producer. Today could be the day...

04.01.2022 Full bellies of warm fresh milk and some grain as second course. These little cuties are all set for the night

03.01.2022 After lots of enquiries we have added new dates for our afternoon sessions! Be quick and book your tickets for our 2 hour sessions starting at 1pm that include seeing the cows milked, feeding the little baby calves, butter churning, cheese tasting and more... https://www.trybooking.com/BJSAB

03.01.2022 Final Sessions for 2020! Don't miss out on visiting Dungog's Farm Visit dairy and learning all the things you didn't know about milk! https://mailchi.mp/959a3a603250/final-sessions-for-2020

03.01.2022 For many of us Australia Day is a celebration of the beautiful country that we are lucky to call our home. Let's focus, today, on coming together and supporting one another. Eat, drink and celebrate with Aussie made, Aussie grown and Aussie owned and help support the farmers, retailers, manufacturers and small family businesses that our country is built on. Happy Australia Day everyone!

03.01.2022 With a week until school holidays we only have 4 sessions still available in our school holiday program! Have you booked your visit yet? Tickets available at http://www.trybooking.com/BLIUK