More Than Milk

In this episode, recorded at the Australian Dairy Conference, I sit down with 2026 Programming Chair Ella Credlin to talk about what goes into creating a conference for nearly 950 dairy farmers and industry professionals. Ella shares her journey into dairy, stepping into leadership, and why she chose to give back to an industry she's invested in. We unpack how the program comes together — from bra...

In this episode we continue the conversation with Gab Toscan and Michael Dennis from Breakwater Insurance , shifting the focus to the practical realities of insurance inside a dairy business. This part of the chat dives deeper into the insurable risks dairy farmers face day-to-day — including employment, business continuity, and how events like fire and flood can impact a business beyond the immed...

Gab Toscan and Michael Dennis from Breakwater Insurance are working closely with dairy farmers and share what they've learned from supporting businesses through challenging moments — and why dairy insurance isn't always as simple as a set-and-forget farm pack. The conversation introduces Dairy Protect , a dairy-specific approach to insurance advice, and explores the difference between general and...

In this episode of the  More than Milk podcast, Chloe sits down with Rachel Nicholson , a dairy farmer based on Jones Island on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. Rachel shares her experience of farming on a floodplain, including the impact of major flood events in 2021 and again in 2025, and what those seasons revealed about resilience, risk, and the strength of the dairy community. She refl...

Joe Jacobs is the Research Director for Animal Production with Agriculture Victoria, based at the Ellinbank Smart Farm. In this chat Joe shares his incredible journey as a scientist, having worked in multiple dairying regions before making the move to Gippsland. He emphasizes the importance of practical, on farm research and the need for translating scientific findings into actionable insights for...

Louise Sundermann is the policy lead for animal health and welfare at Dairy Australia. After growing up on a dairy farm in Gippsland, her passion for animals led her to work with Dairy Australia in a number of roles, with her current focus the Calfways Pathway for Dairy Beef in the search for practical solutions to surplus calves. In this chat she shares the complexities of animal welfare and poli...

Deanne Kennedy had a background in finance and local government, before becoming a dairy farmer's wife, but soon found herself putting the bookkeeping and organisational skills to work, managing the office for a farm consultant and milk processor, before founding Jaydee Events With a passion for event management and people, she shares how they created Cows Create Careers which has grown into one o...

Troy Rossborough grew up in suburban Melbourne before a childhood love of the outdoors led him into agricultural studies and a traineeship in dairy. Over the next 25 years, he worked across Northern Victoria and Gippsland, experiencing everything from small family farms to large-scale operations, and navigating the many highs and lows of the industry along the way. In our chat, Troy reflects on th...

Amy Cosby, a dairy farmer and agricultural researcher, discussed her journey into dairy farming, her academic career, and her passion for agricultural education. She shares her and her husband's long-term goal of farm ownership, the challenges they faced securing financing, and the eventual purchase of their farm in South Gippsland in 2018. Amy explained how she balanced her on-farm responsibiliti...

Warren Davies is the Unbreakable Farmer, who spends his days now as a mental health advocate and speaker, working across the country with a diverse mix of communities and organsiations, but at his heart, he's still a dairy farmer. In this chat he shares how he purchased his own farm next to his parents with ambitions to grow. He was certainly thrown some curveballs by mother nature, and it was dur...

Billy Buckingham has returned home to his family farm, with a real passion to continue the legacy his grandparents started. In this chat he shares the current challenges of the drought and how he is able to take advantage of the dry season preparations his family invested in years ago. He also shares the importance of community and networking in the Young Dairy Network, and how these connections h...

Tori Brindle Mansell grew up in suburban Sydney, but always had a passion for agriculture, turning a summer placement at Uni into a successful career in dairy.  In this chat she shares her love for robotic farming systems, how she started with calf rearing which has since developed into a manager role. We chat about all things robots, and the flexibility it's given her to work whilst her daughter...

Virginia Mall is a self proclaimed dairy tragic, with a lifelong passion for dairy and guernsey cows. Although she was discouraged from pursuing a career in agriculture, she was drawn back in with a real focus on regenerative farming practices.  In this chat she shares how she runs a diversified farm, Grace Springs Farm on only 26 acres, incorporating dairy, beef, pigs and chickens for direct to c...

Alysha & Ryan Conlan had multiple businesses and were making every second of the day count before following their dream to transition from construction into dairy farming. In this week's episode they share how 5 calves quickly went to standing room only, how they didn't let the multiple NO's stop them and how they've moved their family across the state with limited dairy experience to running a su...

Rachael farms in Southern NSW and today shares her incredibly difficult experience following the milk crash and clawback in 2016 and how it drastically changed their farming system. Alongside partner Craig they had to make decisions and make them quick, including downsizing the herd and reducing the staff to ensure the farm could trade their way out of debt, and whilst it has taken them plenty of...

Monique Bryant farms alongside husband Mark in Northern Victoria, and although she has spent time off farm in milk supply and in education, her choice has been and still remains to be farming everyday.  In this chat she shares how they've worked through succession planning on the family farm, how they've faced significant flooding of their milking platform which has led them to expand and grow the...

Sarah Crosthwaite farms alongside her husband Stuart, in the North East of Victoria but her real passion is mental health, starting her own counselling business supporting the mental health and wellbeing of farmers, rural families and a variety of agricultural workers across Australia.  In this chat, Sarah shares how she became an accredited mental health social worker and how she is using her man...

Greg Duncan, is the agribusiness program leader at Dairy Australia. Greg shares his fascinating journey into the dairy industry, starting from his family's sheep and potato farming background in Northern Ireland and England. He discusses his diverse role at Dairy Australia, his early memories of growing up on various farms in New South Wales, and his educational path in agricultural science. Greg...

Grant Rogers worked as a vet in New Zealand before moving to Tasmania to follow his passion to be a farmer. Whilst he admits it was a very steep learning curve, he spent almost 20 years on farm before knowing the time was right to retire and move back into his veterinary practice. Whilst on farm though, he was regularly frustrated by his staff not remembering simple instructions or the seemingly s...

Paul Roderick grew up surrounded by dairy and always knew he would return to his family farm which has gone through plenty of changes across the generations. In this week's episode chat he shares about the evolution of the family farm, we chat about grazing grass in the subtropics and the challenges facing not only Queensland dairy but the industry as a whole and he shares why he is passionate abo...

Ancret Shipton farms in the Bega Valley, not far from where she grew up, but she never envisioned herself as a farmer. That was until she met Michael, who just wanted to be in dairy. Ancret however considered herself the farmers wife; the sounding board, the support and backstop for Michael's farming dreams. That was until he suddenly passed away after receiving a cancer diagnosis a short 9 weeks...

Andrea Vallance started her working career as a woodwork teacher, but quickly moved into farming after marrying Bruce. Although he wasn't in dairy at the time, agriculture was in his blood, so when an opportunity came to lease a farm in Mepunga they jumped at it. They've since built up the business, now currently in an equity partnership, by continually seeking advice and upskilling and always foc...

Julie Moore is a self proclaimed dairy tragic, born and bred within dairy, she has enormous passion for cows and has spent her life balancing farming, family and community. And now begins the process of slowing down with retirement in sight. She's spent years donating her time volunteering on a number of agricultural boards including being the current NSW Women in Dairy Treasurer, and has spent th...

Celina Pellett was an outdoor loving thrill seeker, born in New Zealand on a path to have a very physical career until a freak accident completely changed all of her plans, combining that with covid limiting her ability to find work, it was knocking on a farmers door asking for work that has seen her find a love for dairy she never knew existed.  With a thirst for knowledge, she has jumped straigh...

Nick Hutchinson is the General Manager of Fleurieu Milk Company, having been involved with the company for over 12 years ago, the business & Nick have seen incredible growth over that time, with now over 100 people employed and having complete traceability across their raw milk collection, the processing and distribution of their dairy products.          In today's chat Nick shares how his role be...