Will Hurst from Marshman Ag dairy at Chudleigh the cream of the crop

The way Will Hurst talks about dairy farming you would think it’s the best job in the world.

That’s because he genuinely believes it is, and has no intention of changing tack – except to set up his own dairy farm.

With so much passion for the industry and a work ethic that suggests he will one day reach his goal, Will recently won the Mondelez Young Dairy Farmer Encouragement Award at the DairyTas awards held in Devonport.

Will works for Dean and Kate Marshman at Marshman Ag dairy at Chudleigh where they milk 306 cows with 50/50 split calving in spring and autumn to achieve year-round milk production for Bega.

There’s some cattle and sheep to attend to, but taking care of the milking, feeding, pasture management, grazing plans, dairy maintenance and day-to-day running of the dairy is what Will knows and loves best.

Yes, he gets up early, starting work at 5am for the early milking and then he’s back in the shed for the 2.45pm milking.

But the 27-year-old said overall it allows a flexible day working where he lives with wife Carla and three boys, Angus 3, Edwin 22 months and Joseph 3 months.

He loves the country life and is embedded in the district as a volunteer for the Chudleigh Fire Brigade and Meander Valley SES.

“I get to work where my family is and it works well for us,” Will said.

“Dairy has always been my passion, it’s full of opportunity and there’s so many pathways in the industry.

“That’s something I’ve been keen to promote, which led me to take on the job of chair of the Young Dairy Network Committee when it was formed two years ago – I really wanted others to know how much the industry has to offer.”

Will is one of seven members on the committee who put on events for young dairy farmers across the four state regions – sometimes it’s about social interactions and at other times it’s about education.

The group’s last farm tour was to Premium Fresh and a farm at Natone, and while the Network is aimed at 18 to 35-year-olds, there’s no strict age limit.

A city boy who went to Launceston Christian School, as a little kid Will couldn’t wait for school holidays to spend time with his uncle Nick on his dairy farm at Circular Head.

“I remember getting so excited and running down the track to keep up with him to help him with the milking, well probably more of a hindrance than a help,” he laughed.

“When I was in high school I had a mate who lived on a farm just down the road from here and I’d go and help out there on weekends to earn some pocket money.

“After school I started a building apprenticeship but two years on I realised it wasn’t for me, so I went to work with my friend full-time at the Cramp’s dairy.”

It’s been 14 years since Will started that first casual job on the dairy, and he said it’s just been a series of opportunities that have opened up for him ever since.

Getting involved in the Proud to Be a Dairy Farmer program led to a tour to New Zealand last year courtesy of the Bega Group.

He’s completed a TasTafe Certificate II and III in agriculture and is working on his Certificate IV, and he also completed a Dairy Australia 2IC management course run by DairyTas that set him up well to manage the farm he’s now on when the owners are away.

“I’m lucky to have such incredible employers – they’re so supportive of me taking on extra things and it was them who nominated me for the New Zealand tour – the three of us and the one casual milker who comes in every second week makes us a nice, close-knit team,” he said.

Will admits that owning his own farm feels financially impossible, but he’s slowly getting together his own mob of heifers and once again, he’ll bide his time until an opportunity arises.

In the meantime he works hard to maintain a consistently high-producing dairy.

“It’s a high-input farm – we buy in a lot of feed – but it’s high output from the Friesian Holstein cows and we’re always trying to breed better milkers and find those small improvements,” Will said.