One of Queensland's leading dairy farms will cease next month, drawing the curtain on nearly a century of dairy farming in Far North Queensland.
Rodney and Cynthia Hartin, Long Lanes, are currently preparing their Jersey and Holstein herds for a dispersal sale where some of the best dairy genetics in Australia will be on offer.
The sale signals the end to a three-generation association with the industry, started by Mr Hartin's Irish grandfather in 1931 on the Millaa Millaa property, Rocklea.
"It's all I have known, ever since I was a kid," Mr Hartin said.
"You'd come home from school with a headache on Monday and couldn't wait to get to the bales."
Mr Hartin, 71, took over the family farm in 1980. The couple and their four children milked between 180 to 200 cows on 214 hectares.
With a fourth generation unable to take over the farm, their exit out of the industry began some time ago.
Two years ago, half of the farm was sold.
In September last year, they sold 40 Jersey cows to a Ravenshoe dairy farmer and sold a B-double load of Holstein Friesian cows to a Gympie farmer at Christmas time.
The family has lived through some massive changes.
The industry's deregulation in the late 1990s signalled the end for many dairy operations on the Atherton Tablelands but for the Hartins it represented an opportunity.
With changes to how farmers were paid for their milk, the Hartins decided to reintroduce Jersey cows - Mr Hartin's grandfather milked Jerseys originally - and purchased 60 cows and a bull from a farmer at Gloucester, NSW, in October 1999.
"Jerseys are so much easier to look after," Mr Hartin said.
"They are smaller and have less calving problems, therefore they go in calf better.
"And they have a brain. They remind me of kids - you can talk to them and they know what to do."
The Hartins were active on the local show circuit for about 15 years.
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They won supreme champion cow at the Malanda Show in 1980 with a cow they purchased from Victoria, and followed this with a second supreme champion cow, Long Lanes Temptation Lily, a cow they bred themselves, in 1992.
They made another appearance at the Malanda Show in 2016 when the show celebrated its century, where they picked up champion Jersey cow and then sold her for $6,000 at a special auction.
Long Lane's herringbone dairy which fits 28 cows at a time is a far cry from the farm's original walk through dairy with enough room to milk six cows. Today's tanker collection is too, with Mr Hartin recollecting how farmers delivered milk cans to the Millaa Millaa factory before refrigeration arrived.
While the Hartins have developed the farm's dairy infrastructure as the milking herd grew, they've also embraced genetics, investing heavily in some of the best cow families and sires in Australia.
"I did an artificial insemination course in 1975 and we have been doing our own insemination work since then," Mr Hartin said.
Brian Leslie, Dairy Livestock Services, who will be handling next month's dispersal sale, attests to the quality, describing Long Lanes as "one of the leading herds in Queensland bred from the best genetics in Australia".
"The Holsteins are heavily bred down from the Carmar bloodlines, with some good daughters from bulls Kingdoc and Mookie," Mr Leslie said.
"The Jerseys are by some of the best bulls in the world, and from very famous Jersey cow maternal lines including Silvermine, Fernleaf and Narcissus.
"The cattle are really quiet and present in tremendous condition."
Having lived through the industry's major changes, Mr Hartin believes the factory's change of ownership three years ago to Australian-owned Bega Cheese was the best possible outcome for local farmers.
While their exit from the industry is tinged with sadness, they leave with a lifetime of memories.
"There's ups and downs," Mr Hartin said.
"And it's a lot of hard work. I've seen a lot of people come and go.
"It's a lifestyle. And a good life for kids because they get a work ethic."
Long Lanes dispersal sale will be held on-farm on July 17.
