While there is always plenty of speculation for positive and negative potential outcomes, try to focus on what matters to your business.

What was your 2023-24 milk price? How has that reconciled with your budget at the pointy end? And how will a price change in either direction reflect your 2024-25 reconciliation?

As I write this, the autumn has been dry so far (although the current forecast is finally for some double-digit rainfall).

Water price and availability has meant that we have been able to ‘make our own autumn’.

This of course has had pros and cons, but apart from sleepless nights and purchasing more DE’s, it’s not been that bad.

In May we had a Dairy Australia executive tour of the region.

This saw two combined RNG meetings at Echuca and Shepparton with a great panel of young farmers from various situations.

It was also a chance to meet some farmers on their own soil and tour some amazing farms and facilities.

It’s a credit to farmers in general to see different systems thriving, and the positivity and adaptation to both circumstances and opportunities.

The Young Dairy Network is thriving — this gives me confidence for the future of dairying in our region.

The next generation of farmers are tech-savvy creative thinkers, and they’re not all farmers’ children.

Hopefully all the summer crop is off and away, the winter crops are growing and all we’ll have to deal with over the winter is a bit of moisture.

Time to have one last chance at fixing problem farm tracks to keep the cows’ feet comfortable, consider some strategies for milking in the wet (you never know) and stoke the fire.

– Rachael Napier is the Murray Dairy chair.