Lauren and Simon Finger: The dairy farm that could

YOU’VE got to hand it to the Fingers.

A walk in the park: Lauren and Simon Finger, with children Matthew, Claire and Rachael, on their farm in West Gippsland. The couple have simplified their dairy operation to ride out the tough times.

YOU’VE got to hand it to the Fingers.

Operating on the motto of seize the day, dairy farmers Simon and Lauren Finger have positioned themselves at the forefront of their industry.

Through innovation, and making the most of opportunities that come their way, the couple — from West Gippsland in Victoria — was able to not just ride out what was a tough year for dairy farmers in 2016, but prosper.

Simon and Lauren milk about 900 Friesian, Jersey and crossbred cows across three farms — a home farm at Yannathan and two leased properties at Darnum and Labertouche.

Despite the current industry downturn, which has seen milk companies slash their farmer payments and the Fingers switch from supplying Fonterra to Murray Goulburn, they plan to increase the size of the milking herd to 1000.

For the Fingers, it’s all about rolling with the punches. In an effort to curb labour management, improve cow welfare and slash running costs — such as electricity — they have switched from milking twice a day to milking the herd just once a day. This is a highly unusual move in the dairy industry, usually resulting in significantly less milk — and income.

But as well as providing lifestyle benefits, the Fingers say they earned just $10,000 less than they would have had they been milking twice a day, which they consider “as good as even”.

A significant saving has been in labour costs. The Fingers’ entire operation runs with two full-time employees, one part-time at Yannathan and two casuals. Simon and Lauren estimate another five people would be needed if they milked twice a day.

While once-a-day milking has suited their business and let them expand into other regions with different soil types, seasonality and climate, they said they were not wedded to the idea forever.

Simon said their business was flexible and likened themselves to “margin farmers rather than dairy farmers”, chasing the business margin or opportunity.

It’s this ability to make the most of these opportunities, and adapt to changing environments, which make Simon and Lauren Finger deserving winners of The Weekly Times Coles 2016 Dairy Farmer of the Year.