Michael Armstrong (right) hasn’t held back building a dairy he’ll be happy to work in. Daviesway’s Greg Lechte (left) was ready for it.
If you want to see an extraordinary dairy – achieved by looking through a different lens – visit Michael and Brianna Armstrong’s South Gippsland operation.
Kallista Holdings is a dairy on steroids in terms of its expansive yarding, singular, resourceful attention to detail and cost, and the sheer functionality of this 12-month-old 30-a-side rapid release herringbone at Korumburra. Michael, 40, and Brianna, 38, have ground out their careers which is anchored by an extreme work ethic, a daring vision, and at times…blind faith.
Space and a commitment to one person safely milking and handling cows is obvious in every decision.
Kallista Holdings is a clever mix of technology, vision, and spacious comfort.
They started this season – their 19th – sharemilking 900 cows on a rotary dairy in a 50/50 arrangement with owners Ian and Joanne Cash, while simultaneously setting up and running their own dairy (bought in 2023) in Victoria’s premier dairying country. Their own farm is just 2km down the road from Cash’s property. Everything has been achieved from a standing start.
They have supplied five milk companies during their career and survived multiple tough seasons through some of the industry’s stickiest financial and climatic times. It makes them part of the generation that understands how grim things can get.
In their favour was that they started young, and they have kept their noses to the grindstone. They continue to work between their own and Cash’s property – including building a new herringbone on their farm – and putting a second herd together for the second dairy.
They are achieving a 10,000-litre average (740kg MS) per cow at their share farming position – feeding 10kg of grain every day once cows transition post-calving. Their SCC on the 900 cows is 100,000.
FARM OWNERSHIP
They initially leased the 162 hectares (400 acres) they now own in 2022, with a 61ha (150-acre leasehold property adjoining it). However, soon after they started negotiating to buy the 162 hectares. The 20-unit herringbone on the property at that time wasn’t in great shape, and had an extremely narrow pit. Michael wanted it to be capable of being a one-man dairy, and that included making it easy to draft and hold cows for AI.
The farm’s former owner told them to treat the property as their own, even though the sale wasn’t confirmed at that time. They took him at his word, and moved forward with the new dairy build, new water troughs, water lines, a dam, and effluent pond during the first 12 months of their lease.
They had no bank pre-approval for the finance to buy. To make it more complicated, their banker – who knew their business – shifted from the NAB to the CBA while they were negotiating the farm purchase. They followed her.
Space is the overriding impression at this dairy.
“The whole deal to buy the farm took two years to transition from the lease to a buy agreement,” Michael said. “We didn’t settle on the land sale until July 2023. If the deal had fallen over in that time frame, we could have lost the whole lot.”
They considered building a rotary, but a 30-unit herringbone was still more cost effective and easier to translate into a one-man dairy. The decision to go to a rapid release came down to it being economical, given the space they had already allowed for the build. Some things in this dairy are new. Some are second-hand. Every decision is deliberate.
They are milking 350 on their own farm – heading to an ideal herd size of 500-head. Michael said the dairy puts through 210 cows an hour with a SCC of 45,000. He qualified the SCC by adding that their herd is young – sourced from their own replacements – and they put a lot of effort into hygiene throughout milking, and in the clean-up.
HUGE POINTS OF DIFFERENCE
They added an enormous 9m (4.5m each side) rapid release area on both sides of the pit, so they can keep milking moving.
The dairy is insulated from the rest of the world by large concrete panels which soar 9m. The total area dedicated to milking, and auto drafting swallows 18m x 40m.
Auto-drafting has been made simple and safe for one operator. A second option (not pictured) also includes a catwalk and a series of easy to manage gates. All up, 18m x 40m is committed to milking and auto-drafting.
The dairy footprint includes an adjoining next-level expansive staffroom (with a granite kitchen bench picked up from Facebook marketplace), a bathroom within the staffroom (also using home-quality second-hand purchases from Facebook marketplace), and a huge workshop with extensive shelving and space.
“We’ve tried to set up similar to a rotary – with a big entry and big exits – just for cow flow,” Michael said. “Because I haven’t milked in a herringbone for a freaking long time, we did look at one example before we started the build.”
Calm cows are ready for milking
“We’ve built the yard to hold 800 cows. It probably won’t have to, but it’s easier to build it once properly.”
The undercover area includes two state-of-the-art auto drafting units and yards (one with a non-slip catwalk) along with multiple gates along that race to make it easy for one person to move cows along. There is also a separate AI race right beside the crush, which allows for multiple cows to be easily handled for AI or vet checks.
“We just went for it on what we thought. We joined 240 cows while we milked a month ago. Everything was methodical, and it worked. That was one of my biggest fears before we built the herringbone. That kind of work while we were milking would be hard.”
The dairy is a clever mix of “old and new”. The rubber underfoot is second hand, as are its huge fans which were sourced from an aviation sale.
The couple have saved money in many areas and thrown the book at others because they’ve milked a lot of cows during their career, and when they come back to this dairy, they want it to be easy. The rubber underfoot in the pit is second hand, as are the huge fans from an aviation sale.
A significant amount of the dairy plant is second-hand, including the ACRs (Automatic Cup Removers that are mounted so they can be easily swung out of the way for easier access to the cows), second-hand clusters, and a second-hand feed system and feed bins.
XTREME 90 RAPID RELEASE BAILING
When it came to the bailing, they went with a new design which was recently launched by Daviesway DASCO.
Greg Lechte and Michael Armstrong discuss cow flow and the Xtreme 90 flat gate functionality.
The Xtreme 90 Rapid Release bailing is designed and built in-house by Daviesway DASCO’s manufacturing facility at Warragul. Their point of difference includes that they are manufactured in Australia, and the local link has allowed some exciting detail and strength at a reasonable price.
The Xtreme 90s bailing system combine the durability of thick wall galvanised steel, custom design features, and push-button pneumatic controls, which make it as easy and safe for the operator and the cows.
Left: Tear-Drop Design – Locates cows by their shoulder, which stops them moving away from the breech rail at cups-on. Right: Cow dominance is erased by the Xtreme 90 Rapid Release bailing.
Cows can confidently enter the run and load quickly, because the bailing easily absorbs the repeated impact, and the cows cannot short-load because of the spring-loaded flap gates. It also makes milking significantly more comfortable for younger or timid cows, because they have their own space.
Another unique feature of the tear-drop bail is that it locates the cow by the shoulders – rather than the brisket – which means the cows cannot step away from the breech rail while the cups are being attached.
Left: Push-button operation – Pneumatic-driven controls, along with a large capacity air compressor and regulator (including an air dryer system) makes everything seamless and simple. Right: Both sides of the rapid release exit have a spacious 4.5 metres, allowing the cows to leave comfortably.
A unique hinge system allows the feed bins to move away from the cows before the bailing starts to lift at the end of milking.
The steel frame adds to its durability, and it is run by a large capacity air compressor and regulator. It includes an air dryer system (promoting the longevity of componentsand keeping out moisture, which can also cause seals to prematurely fail).
Operator & cow Safety – Bailing does not drop if air pressure is lost, and the button must be manually held in by the operator, or it will immediately stop.
Daviesway DASCO’s Bruce Treble said Daviesway DASCO decided to manufacture the Xtreme 90 stall gates in-house for a solid reason.
“We could see there was a big gap in the market, because there used to be time delays and our clients weren’t the master of their own destiny when we had to import them,” Bruce said.
“We have subsequently made significant improvements to the design, and by manufacturing them in-house, we have been able to also take control of the time frames and the costs for our customers.
“The difference in what our customers used to be able to get – compared to what we can now offer – is chalk and cheese in terms of outcomes and performance.”
Xtreme 90 bailing is Australian made by the Daviesway team in Gippsland, Victoria.
Daviesway DASCO’s specialist project manager Nico Polato added, “I can’t get past how much installing the Xtreme 90s can improve a standard straight-rail dairy in regard to cow flow. The result of that is that we see less adrenaline and more oxytocin, which is better for everyone.”
Michael agreed, saying after they made the initial adjustments to his system, it hasn’t missed a beat.
“The cows steamroll in, and you think someone will come adrift, but they don’t,” he said. “I like that the Xtreme 90s are made from stronger steel, and that they will last. The whole result is probably better than I thought because it’s a true one-person dairy.
“The cows are getting milked and teat-sprayed by one person. A rotary can be a one person dairy, but realistically in some ways, it’s also not…”
SUMMARY
Michael and Brianna will continue to run both their share farming contract and their own farm as separate entities. They employ six fulltime staff across both farms, and because they pay for the equipment, wages, and fuel they can make both operations work smoothly.
Coles have also been a big part of their current confidence in the industry. They are guaranteed a minimum milk price for the next three years. They need it, because they have always fed cows heavily.
“I probably feed a lot because my old man couldn’t, and there’s money in it,” Michael said.
They have seven more years to run on their share farming contract but after that they may decide to pull back and concentrate on their own operation – depending on what their children Carter, 14, and Michaela, 12, want to do. Unless their share farming property comes up for sale.
“Milking 500 would be the same as sharemilking 1000, and we’ll have capital gains off our land, without the work of 1000 cows,” Michael said.
“The end game has always been more security. We’ve had that to a point with our owners because they’ve always been very good to us, and we’ve had 10-year contracts.
“But that farm is not ours. The hardest part of all this has always been getting into land ownership.”
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