Nick Mignanelli

2022

Agriculture

My career in dairy farming started the day I started to walk. I never had the computer games and all the toys that other kids my age had so I started to wander outside and understand there were things that weren’t getting done on-farm. I decided to take these tasks upon myself as I grew up, to get them done. From the basics like patching up old fences and cleaning up fallen branches, I knew that it was going to be essential long term to have all the small jobs on the farm held to a high standard - as well as the big important jobs.

I’ve always had the mindset of setting goals and achieving them, such as re-fencing the whole farm. As I’ve matured my focus has turned to the economics of our family business. I’ve recently taken on two apprentices; one is school-based, to help them grow their knowledge in the industry that we have a serious passion for. I aim to contribute to the local community by sharing the knowledge I’ve accumulated and encourage other young farmers to follow in my footsteps and get into the magical dairy industry.

From Nick’s Application:

Q: A Global Footprints Scholarship is your opportunity to do more of what you love. What have you done at work that you are proud of or passionate about?

I take a huge amount of pride in everything I've achieved on-farm (at work). I developed a strong passion for dairy farming from a very young age and have continued to grow my knowledge via on-farm experiences on our family dairy farm. 90% of the physical knowledge was self-taught.

In recent years I’ve realized our farm isn’t set up to run as economically as it could be, with regards to infrastructure. To set the farm up to be a profitable business in the future I’ve started to seek support and ideas from local farmers, advisers, etc. These have provided a strong influence in decision-making on the farm. I can’t express enough how grateful I am to everybody who has shared their knowledge and helped develop mine.

Something I am particularly proud of is being able to double the tonnes of dry matter grown per hectare on the farm, by first soil testing and understanding what the soil needs. After applying nutrients strategically to what is required, I have focused on applying smaller rates of water and fertilizer more often, to improve utilisation of these valuable inputs and minimise environmental impacts on our ecosystem health. Along with multiple other changes for cow nutrition and health focus, I’ve been able to lift our herd average production to 33Litre avg per cow – vs 13Litre avg before my time.

I have completed a Certificate 3 in agriculture (via a school-based apprenticeship), my Artificial insemination certificate, chemical license, quad bike and front-end loader license, HC license, and more. My goal from here is to continue my progressive journey, inherit the farm, diversify and run a successful enterprise.

Q: A Global Footprints Scholarship is for those who are passionate about creating a sustainable future. Describe something you have done at work or are working on, that helps the environment. Why is it important to you?

There are multiple investments that we have made on-farm to benefit the environment we farm on and its surroundings. First of all, I'd like to acknowledge that environmental sustainability has been important to our business since my grandparents purchased the property back in the 1960s. Whilst farmers didn't have the in-depth level of knowledge that we do now, my grandparents in their youth always aimed to keep up with the times and take the time to understand as much as they could. As they cleared the land, in each paddock they left a “nature strip” for stock shelter and to protect the wildlife around.

My grandparents did this because they didn't want to push the land so hard that stocking rates affected soil health. We historically focus on using deeper rooted perennial plant species, that have a bigger crown on the surface and help maintain soil structure.

Since I've been working on the farm I have prioritised fencing off the river sections that run through our farm. I see this environmental protection is necessary for two main reasons 1) to stop cows walking in the creek and eroding the banks, and 2) to prevent cattle waste from polluting the water quality.

We've also invested in creating laneways/tracks/bridges over the last three years; that have been set up so machinery and cow traffic can use them reducing pugging and erosion on the paddocks. This investment included the construction of a new bridge at our river crossing, again to prevent bank erosion and keep waters clean.

In addition I have changed how I spread fertilizer on our pastures, spreading smaller quantities more often, following the cows in their paddock rotations. This action alone has significantly reduced the nutrient leaching from the farm. I've also commenced using poultry manure alongside synthetic fertilizers, which has improved microbial soil health in our sandier paddocks to improve and stimulate the microbial performance within the soil and to also build the organic matter levels within the soil. This is part of our 10-year plan to increase organic matter within our soils, measured partly by soil pH.

Q: Everyday across the globe, people make breakthroughs for a more sustainable future. What have you seen or heard about that you find inspiring, and why?

My question to the industry is: What is the farmer’s vision for future investments on his/her farm and what will it look like in their business? What challenges have they overcome, or are they about to face?

It truly blows me away every time I think about all the systems that are out there and how different they are. It also amazes me to see how much knowledge has been gained and is now being shared on cows' rumens (their stomach) and what goes on inside; how feeding different feeds and combining them strategically can achieve specific yield outcomes that the manager desires.

Who would have thought 50 years ago that there would be herds now with collars on their cows that can tell whether a cow is ruminating, what her temperature is, knowing when she is ready for breeding etc; and then even have all the data sent straight to the farmer's phone. Australia's average production in litres for a cow in the average herd has gone from 8 litres per day to 24.5 litres per day in the last 60 years. These are only a few of the examples I've shared with you, I could go on for weeks with examples but I'm confident that you will catch “the vibe” the point I'm trying to make here is that there isn't one specific system that fascinates me more than the other, it's more about how, they've developed the system. Why have they created what they have? Has the system met their expectations?

Q: As a Global Footprints Scholar you can choose to go anywhere in the world. Where would you travel with your Scholarship and why?

The scholarship will be used for traveling overseas to visit three countries. My tour will take an in-depth look into how the different systems are running in different climates.

First I would like to visit New Zealand with company LIC Genetics. They offer a trip over five days where we will see a range of different systems from once per day milking dairies to intensive pasture-based systems. We will even get to network at the three national dairy field days in Mystery Creek and finally visit the LIC bull breeding, semen collection and herd test center.

The education I'd gain from this trip would be phenomenal, I’ve always been told if you want to learn how to grow grass go to NZ. Key focus areas will include:

·       Measuring pasture and rotation lengths

·       Nitrogen application and implications around water streams

·       Once per day milking & decision making around this system

·       Why do farms herd test and what goes on behind the scenes in genetic selection.

In Ireland, dairying systems are very different to NZ, where most herds are housed for a few months of the year to maintain herd health, milk yields, and to avoid damaging their pastures. Wet winters is something I can relate to on our farm. The average herd size in south Ireland is 150 cows, so I’d be looking at similar sized operations.

I would also like to study practices around silage harvest. South Ireland predominantly grow perennial pastures; they have one of the best reputations in the world for achieving the highest quality silage. I believe a big part in where they do so well is in the preserving/ ensiling process, I’m yet to confirm this though. I’ve reached out to the Irish national federation of young farmers club, who have welcomed me and are able to provide farms to visit.

In America my focus will be on gaining insights into the management of large intensive dairy operations. I would like to understand how corporate agribusiness make decisions and consider their margins in challenging and good years. My desire is to see how they encourage team work to manage a large herd successfully. I would also like to study how they use technology in their feeding systems and how they maximise cow comfort for productivity gains.

The knowledge I gain will be shared with the industry back home, to help other young farmers establish goals and aims in their careers.

“Outstanding application, very detailed, motivated and passionate about his career and industry”

- Bruce Paynter, Global Footprints Assessor

“Could not be more passionate about the dairy industry”

- Paddy Fagan, Global Footprints Assessor