Dairy a labour of love and passion for Clint Theodore and Brooke Lane

DAIRY WINNER 2018: WHAT Clint Theodore and Brooke Lane might lack in years, they certainly make up for in innovation, determination and success.

Farmer of the Year finalists, Dairy, Clint Theodore & Brooke Lane, Alvie, Picture Yuri Kouzmin

WHAT Clint Theodore and Brooke Lane might lack in years, they certainly make up for in innovation, determination and success.

And it’s the latter, in particular, that is fast making the sharefarmers the envy of many of their contemporaries.

Clint, 32, and Brooke, 23, run a high-production herd of 300 Holstein cows, each producing about 11,000 litres of milk, at Alvie, near Colac, in southwest Victoria.

Through a scientific and economic approach, one that puts herd health and costs front and centre, the Fonterra fresh milk suppliers have been able to achieve a massive return on equity of more than 12 per cent in recent years.

Last year was a particularly successful year for Clint and Brooke. As well as being named in the top 10 per cent of Australian dairy farmers for milk quality, they were recognised as sharefarmers of the year at Victoria’s prestigious Great South West Dairy Awards.

It’s the result of an enormous amount of work but is a labour of love for an industry that dates back to school days for Clint. Inspired by agriculture classes, and with a family connection to the industry, he undertook a dairy apprenticeship and completed a diploma of agriculture.

Later he took on the role of farm manager at the 172-hectare property the couple have sharefarmed for the past four years in a 50:50 arrangement with owners Phil and Kate Harris.

Having researched innovations to get the most out of their herd, Clint and Brooke introduced technology from the Netherlands that individually monitors cows for such things as optimum joining time and eating habits.

The results have been outstanding – they have doubled their in-calf rates after six weeks of joining, resulting in significant financial and management gains, and can now identify sick cows more quickly.

Brooke says the system saved them about $305 per cow annually, paid for itself within a year and doubled the financial returns for the initial outlay.

“We want to do the best by the cows,” Brooke says.

“You breed these good cows, you want to treat them properly and get the most out of them.”

This passion makes Clint Theodore and Brooke Lane worthy winners of The Weekly Times Coles 2018 Dairy Farmer of the Year.

WINNER Dairy Farmer of the Year 2018

CLINT THEODORE AND BROOKE LANE, Alive, VIC

ON FARM: CLINT THEODORE AND BROOKE LANE