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Agricultural

5 July, 2021

Southbrook dairy farmer receives grant

Southbrook farmer Peter Garratt has received $100,000 from the Woolworths Dairy Innovation Fund to install an automatic grain batching system.


Southbrook dairy farmer Peter Garratt has received $100,000 from the Woolworths Dairy Innovation Fund.

The system will support a balanced diet for his herd by ensuring an accurate mix of the right grains, which can be tailored as needed.

Mr Garratt will also use his grant to reduce feed losses with improved fodder storage, build an effluent recycling system and boost cow health and comfort with additions to the herd‘s summertime shelter. 

His dairy produces 2.6 million litres of milk annually on the Darling Downs property that has belonged to his family for 95 years.

He and his young family live on the farm, which he runs in partnership with his parents.

Mr Garratt said they are very grateful to have received this grant as it means they can make some of their plans come alive.

“We are really excited to have the opportunity to make some of our dreams a reality,“ he said. 

“The installation of automated grain batching will ensure our cows receive a correctly balanced diet and save us valuable time. 

“We will also be providing motion detecting comfort brushes and a ventilation system to keep our herd healthy and happy all year round.“

Mr Garratt is one of 24 successful applicants in this round of the Woolworths Dairy Innovation Fund.

The Woolworths Dairy Innovation Fund awards up to $100,000 to dairy farmers for projects including solar-powered desalination, milk sensor technology, enhanced bushfire protection, herd-monitoring technology and dairy automation.

This round received almost 500 applications from farmers across Australia, and saw Woolworths deliver more than $2 million in grant funding to the successful applicants.

Over the next three years, the Dairy Innovation Fund will invest a total of $5 million in approximately 60 businesses, with yearly grant application rounds open to all dairy farmers in the Woolworths supply chain, including those supplying vendor brands.

The second round of the Dairy Innovation Fund will open later this year. 

For more information, visit www.woolworths.com.au/dairyinnovationfund.


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