Elevate Dairy is an innovation program by Gardiner Foundation, designed to attract and integrate innovative solutions from around the world into the Victorian Dairy Industry.
Between 3 and 13 August, Elevate Dairy brought its first cohort of seven global innovators to Victoria for a ten-day program across the state’s three dairy regions. The seven were selected from more than 65 applications from around the world, arriving at this cohort through several rounds of evaluation: shortlisting by the delivery team, technical assessment by the Technical Expert Panel, and a final review by the Industry Advisory Committee, which includes seven active dairy farmers, spanning veterinary science, corporate finance, agribusiness, agricultural research and industry leadership.
The Roadshow was designed around two goals. For innovators, it offered more than networks: a firsthand understanding of the regional characteristics of the Victorian dairy ecosystem, and direct feedback from farmers to help tailor their products for the Victorian market and sharpen their go-to-market strategy. For farmers, it offered the opportunity to see world-leading dairy innovation firsthand, provide direct feedback to innovators, help tailor products to their needs and increase the chances of successful on-farm adoption.
Day 1, Melbourne
The roadshow opened with a welcome breakfast with the Delivery Team, before Gardiner Foundation CEO Allan Cameron addressed the Cohort and shared more about Gardiner Foundation and why the investment in Elevate Dairy.
Dairy Australia then provided an industry overview, hearing from CEO Matt Shaffer, General Manager (Research and Innovation) Byron de Kock, Head of Innovation Emily Samyue, and Head of Economics, Data and Insights Helen Quinn. The group was also joined by Agriculture Victoria’s Senior Project Officer Linny Thom, who spoke about the agtech landscape, AgVic’s role in the dairy sector, and the support available to help farmers adopt agtech.
That evening, more than 50 industry representatives joined the cohort at The Commons at QV for a Welcome Reception. Cohort One was able to connect with Aurora Dairies, Australian Dairy Products Federation, Bega, Dairy Australia, DataGene, Lactalis-Mainland Dairy, United Dairyfarmers Victoria, trusted dairy advisors and consultants, and dairy farmers. This helped the seven innovators to put faces to the industry they were going to spend the next ten days getting to know.
Days 2 and 3, Gippsland
Cohort One began their journey in Gippsland, visiting sharefarmers Will and Kate Ryan. Will and Kate walked innovators through their pasture-based system and the documentation pressures that come with running a time-poor operation. From there it was on to Ellinbank SmartFarm, Australia’s leading dairy innovation facility, where Agriculture Victoria’s Professor Joe Jacobs and Dr Sharon Aarons showed how sensor technology, FeedBase research and soil science are being trialed at scale.
The Gippsland Innovator Showcase, co-hosted with GippsDairy, followed at Morwell Bowling Club, where more than 60 farmers, processors and industry representatives came through to see all seven technologies up close.
The Innovator Showcases were one of the most important events during the roadshow, a structured session where each of the seven innovators present their technology to a room full of dairy farmers, service providers and processors. Farmers were able to provide direct feedback, point out which features mattered more locally than in the innovator’s home market, what needed improving, which local partners a company would need to succeed, and what to watch out for when scaling in that region.
Days 4 and 5, Murray
Gippsland gave way to Murray with visits to two very different operations: Nick Minogue’s pasture-based, flood-irrigated farm at Katandra, and Shannon Pastoral at Katunga, a multi-generational, TMR-fed operation that has grown to 1,300 head under Nathan and Lyndal Shannon. Between them, the two visits gave innovators a picture of just how differently dairy farming can look, even within one region.
The Murray Innovator Showcase at the Shepparton Showground McIntosh Centre, co-hosted by Murray Dairy and Dairy Australia Murray, drew farmers, processors and industry from across the region. ABC’s Warrick Long broadcast live on radio, drawing extra attendees who made the detour to join us at the showcase.
Days 8–9 , West Victoria
After a short break in Melbourne, the roadshow headed west, visiting Alistair and Caitlin Harris’s farm at Larpent where they shared their decision-making process behind innovation investment and adoption, before a stop at the Lactalis-Mainland processor site in Cobden. At the plant, the team walked through how Lactalis-Mainland collects data from farmers across the supply process, how that data is used, and the quality assurance considerations involved, before a tour of the facility itself brought the end-to-end process to life.
The West Victoria Innovator Showcase at Warrnambool’s City Memorial Bowls Club, co-hosted with WestVic Dairy, closed out the program with the third and largest wave of farmer conversations, questions and, again, some on-the-spot purchases.
Day 10, Melbourne
The final day brought everyone back to Melbourne for a workshop just for the Cohort. It provided an opportunity to reflect on everything they had learned over the 10 days, mapping out what comes next in Victoria on the back of ten days of farmer feedback, relationships and credibility the program had built on their behalf. A farewell dinner marked the end of ten days that had, by design, been as much about relationships as about technology, before innovators departed.
What’s next?
Cohort One now heads into the next stage of the program with a far clearer picture of the market they are trying to enter and a head start on the relationships they need. Elevate Dairy is working with them over the next 12 months to overcome adoption barriers and scale their innovations across Victoria, Australia.
Interested in being part of Elevate Dairy?
If you are a dairy farmer and would like to be part of our Farmer Network, register your details below.
If you are an innovator looking to expand into the dairy industry, find more details here on Cohort Two.