The program for the largest dairy conference and exhibition in the State, Dairy Innovation Day (DID), has been unveiled.
The 2023 event will be held in Narrikup and is facilitated by Western Dairy with host farmers Ken and Bonnie Ravenhill from Ravenhill Pastoral on May 11.
Now in its 22nd year, the 2023 DID will include an in-depth look into the business operations of Western Australia's largest dairy and its journey to success.
Master of Ceremonies for the day, Dairy Australia's agribusiness program coordinator Greg Duncan, said he is excited to be venturing to WA to meet with Ken and Bonnie and share their story with other industry enthusiasts.
"I don't often get the chance to head to Western Australia, so to be invited over to emcee Dairy Innovation Day is a huge thrill and honour," Mr Duncan said.
"Ravenhill Pastoral is one of the most impressive dairies in the state and Ken and Bonnie's business acumen at such a young age is admirable."
Succession is one of the key topics on the program for DID 2023.
Attendees will hear how Ken and Bonnie purchased the family farm a decade ago in an amicable succession arrangement with Ken's parents, Graham and Jan, and brothers Bevan and Rhys.
The couple now runs a successful operation, with Ravenhill Pastoral employing 14 full-time staff who look after 1,700 cows that produce 16 million litres of milk annually.
The program will also include a presentation from Western Dairy's regional climate adaptation lead, Cathy Ashby, on a WA-specific pilot to increase the uptake of the Australian Dairy Carbon Calculator.
The Australian Dairy Carbon Calculator is a tool which allows farm managers to estimate the impact different abatement strategies will have on their farm's greenhouse gas emissions.
The initial goal of the pilot is to achieve a minimum of 80 per cent of the total WA milk pool to have an emission baseline by July 2024 as a positive move forward to meeting the industry's 2030 targets.
"The Australian dairy industry is committed to meeting the challenge of climate change," Ms Ashby said.
"The highly cooperative nature of WA's dairy industry puts it in an ideal position to measure the carbon footprint across a large portion of the milk pool within a 12-month time-frame."
In a return to the traditional format, DID 2023 will conclude with a tour of Ravenhill Pastoral's operations, including the 100-stand rotary commissioned in 2021 - the only one of its kind in WA.
