Dehne and Sarah Vinnicombe: Managing the risks of farming

THERE are few industries exposed to a greater level of risk than farming. But, for dairy farmers Dehne and Sarah Vinnicombe, how you manage that risk is what counts.

Marching on: Dairy farming is all about managing your risks according to Dehne and Sarah Vinnicombe, with their children Henry, 6, Hollee, 11, Macey, 9, and Teagen, 7, at Calivil in northern Victoria. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

2017 DAIRY FARMER OF THE YEAR WINNER

DEHNE AND SARAH VINNICOMBE

CALIVIL, VIC

THERE are few industries exposed to a greater level of risk than farming.

But, for dairy farmers Dehne and Sarah Vinnicombe, how you manage that risk is what counts.

The Vinnicombes, from Calivil in northern Victoria, know all too well the uncertainties Mother Nature and the industry offer. Drought, high water costs, crippling feed prices, wildly fluctuating farmgate returns — they have seen it all during their farming career.

To counter this, and get the most out of their herd of up to 500 milking cows, they adhere to two key directives: not buying water and feed when industry demand is at a premium, and using all markets to the best of their abilities.

It’s an approach that’s paying dividends on their 1012-hectare farm, part of which has been in the Vinnicombe family since 1904.

Dehne and Sarah manage their biggest risk — water — by producing as much feed from their available irrigation allocation as possible.

The risk of a dry season is managed through large and varied fodder production and conservation — with supplies stockpiled in case “the market turns sour” — while cash flow risk is controlled by strict budgets, scrutiny of production costs and benchmarking against local farmers and the wider dairy industry.

The approach came to the fore in April 2016 when dairy processor Murray Goulburn cut its farmgate milk price, a move that came late in the season when the Vinnicombes had already made most decisions.

Dehne said it was then they were grateful to have years of farm data at their fingertips.

“We knew where we could cut back, where our strengths and weakness were,” Dehne said.

The following season, they leased cows to make the most of low water prices and availability of feed in a bid to reduce costs to remain under the price being paid for their milk.

The gamble is paying off. In equity terms, the Vinnicombes, who now supply Parmalat, have increased their worth three times in the past five years.

“We are only as strong as the weakest link in our business, and if we can lift our weakest link, we lift those things that make us money,” Dehne said.

It’s a savvy business approach and one that makes Dehne and Sarah Vinnicombe worthy winners of The Weekly Times Coles 2017 Dairy Farmer of the Year.