Heart of the land
The morning sunrise casts a pink glow over Simone and Neil Jolliffe’s property in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. It’s a frosty start to the day at 3°C but the 250 Holstein Friesian cows lined up for the morning milking don’t seem to mind. They take their orderly position one behind the other like they’re waiting in line for a footy finals ticket. Like any diehard fan, there’s a bit of argy-bargy to ensure a prime position, but they all get their turn in the herringbone dairy, with the reward of a feed for their efforts.
“If the cows have a full belly, they’re happy,” Neil says. “We feed them as much grass and hay as we can, and they get about eight kilograms of grain each day.”
Neil and Simone are used to the early starts, dirty aprons, and the free-flying faeces. Their farm has been
