Dairy On PAR is a three-year project managed by the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) and funded by Dairy Australia.
The ‘PAR’ stands for Participatory Action Research, a process in which the researchers and research participants work collaboratively to identify research needs, steps to take, and reflect on outcomes.
In this case, the participants are Tasmanian dairy farmers. TIA researchers investigate new farming methods and the extension team work with dairy farmers to help them increase milk production and implement new, beneficial practices to support the state’s dairy industry. Research is done on local farmers’ properties and at TIA’s Dairy Research Facility at Elliott.
Extending research to the dairy industry
The Dairy on PAR project shares the research with farmers through the team’s extension work. The extension work includes discussion groups, free performance benchmarking, state-wide dairy farming snapshots, annual dairy awards and a monthly newsletter.
Dairy discussion groups and field days give farmers a forum to learn from each other and keep up-to-date with the latest farming practices, such as pasture measurement and silage-making. This helps increase farm productivity.
Tasmanian dairy discussion groups and field days are generally free. Details about upcoming events are listed in the Tassie Dairy News.
The benefits of discussion groups
Helpful resources for dairy farming
Want to know more about the Dairy on Par project? Contact TIA’s Dairy Extension Team Leader, Lesley Irvine:
Email: Lesley.Irvine@utas.edu.au
Phone: 03 6430 4961