End of dairy era as Melbourne’s last dairy farm sells up
For the past 48 years, the Kelly family have proudly run their dairy farm near Melbourne in Australia, pursuing their dreams milking cows as the city creeped ever closer to their doorstep.
However, with expansion ambitions effectively choked by both nearby residential and industrial areas, and surging prices for development land, the family has decided to sell up and move to a bigger farm.
Kelly’s Dairy Farm is the last remaining dairy farm within Melbourne’s CBD and is run by young mum of four, Sarah Kelly, 38, and her dad Gerry, 65.
Their farm located at Skye extends to over 300ac and is home to around 280 Holstein Friesian milking cows.
Sarah said: “Our family has been dairy farming here since 1978 when my grandparents purchased the property.
"Right now we are the closest dairy farm to Melbourne CBD and are classified as metropolitan, surrounded by housing and industrial estates.”
The family has improved the production of their cows over the years. The herd has a current average yield of 8,000L/cow/yr with a butterfat percentage of of 4.5% and protein at 4%.
In terms of the herd’s breeding strategy, the Kelly family introduced genomics over the past two years, in a bid to improve the overall status of their cows.
Sarah added: “We have introduced genomics in the last two years and are looking forward to seeing what improvements have been made.
“For the past 30 years, it’s been our policy to practice AI [artificial insemination] on the farm using top genetics.
"With that, alongside good farming methods, we have built up good mastitis resistance, good milk production, cow health and fertility,” she said.
Melbourne sprawl
With a growing young family, Sarah always wanted to expand the farm, but as the CBD crept ever closer each year, that goal was never going to be achieved.
And with their farm prime for developing, the agents have set a hefty price tag of AUS$50 million, which should comfortably buy them another dairy farm to continue their dreams of producing milk.
Sarah said: “We are selling the farm because we are ready for a change and need to move locations to be able to expand.
“Being surrounded by suburbia here we are unable to grow the business. Our aim is to start afresh and give us options of how to do things our own way.
“This could mean setting up to farm with robots, or indeed starting off with a completely new herd.
“We are looking forward to farming on more fertile pastures, which will most likely be in the Gippsland region, which runs from Melbourne out to the New South Wales border,” Sarah added.
The Kelly farm is just 30 minutes from Melbourne and has a number of new properties and businesses planning to build just down their road.
Although she has strong sentimental connections to the farm, Sarah knows the move is a must, considering she hopes to more than double the herd to milking 700 cows.
It could take a few years for their farm to sell but, until that time, Sarah and her dad milk on each day doing the job they love the most, and continue to promote dairy farming to the public.
