For second generation dairy farmers Dallas, Adrian, Glen, and Melvyn Zischke, weathering a tough season with high input costs has been about focusing on the quality of their milk.
The Darling Downs farmers have been recognised for their efforts as a 2019 winner of Dairy Australia's Milk Quality Awards.
This places them within the top 100 farmers nationwide for milk quality.
The awards recognise quality based on bulk milk cell count, with the farmers in the top 100 given a gold accolade.
The Zischkes were the only Queensland farmers to receive a gold in this year's awards, making them the state's top producers for milk quality.
It is the thirteenth successive win for the dryland farmers, who are based at Haden supply to Norco. After taking over the family farm in 2005, the brothers continued to milk their 120 cow herd, which is 65 per cent Friesian and 35 per cent Jersey.
"We've been in dairy farming all our lives, and we're very proud to be Milk Quality Award winners for the thirteenth year in a row," Mr Zischke said.
"We always try to maintain high milk quality, for the sake of getting all our bonuses and keeping up our profitability."
A volatile climate and high hay and grain costs have put pressure on the Zischkes' farming system and placed even greater importance on milk quality.
The Zischkes' milk quality sees them earn a premium of up to 11 cents per litre on top of their base milk price, allowing them to stay on top of high input costs.
"The premiums we get from high milk quality have a big impact on our bottom line," Mr Zischke said.
"We're usually very self-sufficient and grow our own hay, but the weather hasn't been in our favour.
"We bought in hay last year at over $500 per tonne, which was very expensive."
Sound management and effective herd monitoring have played an important role.
"It's all about management," Mr Zischke said.
"We do monthly herd recording, which lets us keep track of cows with high bulk milk cell counts and make informed decisions."
The Zischkes take a best practice approach to mastitis prevention.
"We teat spray every time, and we always have," Mr Zischke said.
At drying off, we treat every cow with a dry cow treatment to prevent mastitis."
"Every day, you have to stick to it - it's about consistency."
Representing Queensland in the silver milk quality awards were Darryl and Leanne Priebbenow and Turner Rural Holdings Pty Ltd.
