Simpson dairy farmers April and Andrew Crole win national milk quality gold
A Simpson farming family's dedication to consistency has earned them gold in Australia's prestigious Milk Quality Awards.
Clouds that never arrive don’t provide silver linings, but dry conditions have provided a golden spin-off for April and Andrew Crole.
The southwest Victorian farmers have been certified as gold winners in this year’s Milk Quality Awards, released today by Dairy Australia.
Milking 350 Holsteins on a 190ha main property with several out-paddocks, the Simpson-based Crole family have appeared multiple times in the Milk Quality Awards during the past decade.
“It has been a dry start to the year – winter hit us later than usual, in August and September,” Andrew said.
“While there’s plenty of problems that come with the drier weather, cell counts generally aren’t one of them. It’s one of the few positives.”
Andrew grew up on his family’s Simpson farm but left in his teenage years to become a boilermaker and welder while April is a qualified insurance broker.
They’re joined by children Archer, 13, and Ayla, 11, as well as farm worker Lorraine Mahoney and Andrew’s parents Wayne and Vickie.
“It’s a real team effort,” April said.
“Consistency is a big part of keeping cell counts low – we always have two people in the dairy; making sure all the machines are working correctly, keeping an eye on udder health.
“There’s no one special element – it’s about watching all the small things. With Archer and Ayla now a bit older, they’re helping out more.”
Victoria dominated the 2025 Milk Quality Awards for producing the nation’s best milk based on Bulk Milk Cell Count data, with the vast majority of gold recipients hailing from southwest Victoria.
Tasmania and Western Australia tied for second place with five farms each in the top 100, followed by South Australia with three gold recipients and a solitary gold farm each in NSW and Queensland.
Dairy Australia’s national milk quality and biosecurity lead Zoe Vogels said the awards recognised the hard work of farmers in maintaining the health of dairy herds and the quality of the milk they produce.
“A low bulk milk cell count is indicative of good mastitis control (and) over the last 20 years of the awards, we’ve seen BMCCs steadily improve,” Dr Vogels said.
“Despite the significant challenges dairy farmers have faced over the past 18 months, including floods and drought, it’s great to see our Australian dairy farms continue to deliver some of the best milk in the world.”
The Milk Quality Awards are part of Dairy Australia’s national mastitis control program, Countdown, which started in 1998.
In recent years, the Countdown program has been replicated by both Ireland and New Zealand to bring cell count figures down in those respective industries.
