South West farms shine in Dairy Australia’s national awards Cally DupeCountrymanWed, 29 October 2025 5:00PMEmail Cally Dupe
WA dairy farmers have held their own at this year’s Dairy Australia Milk Quality Awards, with five farms in the top 100 after being recognised for their exceptional standards and herd management.
Dairy farmers from across the South West were among those certified as gold winners in this year’s awards, with WA and Tasmania tying for second place in terms of the number of winners behind the dominant Victoria.
There were also three gold recipients from South Australia and one each from New South Wales and Queensland.
Among the gold winners from WA were Ferguson Valley dairy farmers Matthew and Angela Brett, the Elson family of Karridale, the Gardiner family of Catterick, Ranchway family of Cowaramup and the Letchford family of Walsall Dairy in Busselton.
There were also five silver winners from WA, including the Jenkins family’s Treeton Holsteins in Cowaramup, Carenda Holsteins at Boyanup, RJ & G Parravicini and Sons of Harvey, Stenelees Pastoral Co of Acton Park and the WA College of Agriculture – Denmark.
Since 2002, the award celebrates farmers who have produced the best milk in Australia, as measured by Bulk Milk Cell Count data provided by processors each financial year.
Dairy Australia national milk quality and biosecurity lead Zoe Vogels said the awards recognised the hard work of farmers both in terms of maintaining the health of dairy herds and the quality of milk they produced.
“A low bulk milk cell count is indicative of good mastitis control, and over the past 20 years we have seen bulk milk cell counts steadily improve,” she said.
“Despite the significant challenges dairy farmers have faced during the past 18 months, including floods and drought, it is great to see Australian dairy farms continue to deliver some of the best milk in the world.”
To be eligible, dairy farms must have data for a minimum of nine months in a calendar year.
Prior analysis by Dairy Australia found that a farmer milking 300 cows who lowered their BMCC from 300,000 to 200,000 would be financially better off by $35,700 a year.
WAFarmers dairy section president Ian Noakes said the State’s dairy farmers were always striving for excellence.
“The farmers in the top 100 are doing a fantastic job and they deserve a big congratulations,” he said.
The Milk Quality Awards form part of Dairy Australia’s national mastitis control program, Countdown, which started in 1998 and has since been replicated by New Zealand and Ireland.
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