AUGUST 2022 ISSUE 142
WEST VIC REGION
Action on climate BY RICK BAYNE
AS A proud member of Farmers for Climate
“One of the benefits from going once-a-day is that you cut costs but production doesn’t go down by the same proportion,” Karrinjeet says.
supposedly to improve their bottom line, but the reality was the total opposite. “We milk cows off-peak,” Karrinjeet said. “The vast majority of our power, running the plant and cooling down the milk, is off-peak because we start at 4.45am. “They changed our tariff without talking to us and we are hugely worse off.” Karrinjeet says “the battle continues” and they are finding it much harder to get changed back to the previous arrangement compared to how easily the surprise change was made. Power costs are hitting many farmers — just another reason to adopt sustainable practices, Karrinjeet says. “I know one farmer who has a generator to cover gaps on the dairy and now they have put one on the house as well,” Karrinjeet said. “He wants to put alternative energies in place because he’s sick to death of how unreliable the power is.” Continued, page 2
Karrinjeet Singh-Mahil and Brian Schuler have made big changes designed to improve their lifestyle, profit and the environment.
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Action, Karrinjeet Singh-Mahil is trying to live by example. From once-a-day milking to solar panels, and from changing to multi-species pastures to potentially buying a hybrid car if the milk price stays high — Karrinjeet isn’t shy about trying new things that are good for her, the farm and the environment. “It’s crazy that people just assume there’s only one way to do things — there are many ways to do things,” she says. “The way we are living at the moment isn’t sustainable. We all have to think about what we can do.” Karrinjeet and her husband Brian Schuler farm at Crossley in south-west Victoria, and have been constantly adjusting their practices to be sustainable and family-friendly. Changing from twice to once-a-day milking in February 2020 was a big move that paid off, both for finances and family. “One of the benefits from going once-a-day is that you cut costs but production doesn’t go down by the same proportion,” Karrinjeet said. “Our power costs dropped by more than 40 per cent when we went once-a-day but our milk production didn’t drop as much.” Production initially dipped by about 30 per cent but slowly recovered, creating ongoing cost and lifestyle benefits. “We didn’t do it for the cost benefits — we did it because we wanted more time with our family,” Karrinjeet added. However, there has been a fly in the ointment. A few months ago, the farm’s power costs suddenly shot up by about 50 per cent. Brian rang and asked both their retailer and supplier and discovered their tariff had been changed without their knowledge on the expectation that it would lead to savings. They were no longer on off-peak power,