REI people

Sam Taylor, member of the DairyCare Effluent Technical Working Group.

Introducing Sam Taylor, member of the DairyCare Effluent Technical Working Group or ‘Kenny’ to his dairy farmer mates. Not only is Sam a skilled agronomist, he is also a creative writer. A competition was run by our REI project partners to come up with a catchy name for our newsletter. Congratulations Sam for the overwhelmingly popular Estuary echo.

“I’ve been working with dairy farmers to manage nutrient loads on farm since I was involved in one of the first whole farm soil testing programs in 2008,” said Sam.

“We used to call it Nutrient Management Systems for the Dairy Industry and Intensive Agriculture in the South West, or Dairy NMS for short.

“But what’s in a name – it must be a success because whole farm soil testing programs continue to be rolled out, more recently under the Regional Estuaries Initiative and the Revitalising Geographe Waterways programs.

“My involvement in these programs has been both presenting at workshops and also meeting individually with farmers to prepare reports, interpret results and provide fertiliser recommendations.

“While I continue to be involved in the soil testing programs, I am now helping dairy farmers, particularly in the Geographe Catchment, manage and improve their effluent systems.

“These farmers have started to call me “Kenny” after the 2006 movie to do with the portable toilet plumber, and they think that all I talk about is poo!! (of the cow variety), explained Sam.

“Recently, I was privileged to travel to New Zealand as part of the Effluent Technical Working Group to look at state of the art effluent management systems.

“The New Zealand dairy farmers face stringent regulation around managing effluent, and their systems for containment and reuse of nutrient are second to none.

“We visited farms that had made significant investment in effluent systems to ensure compliance and maximum nutrient reuse on farm.

“Personally, I am married with four kids who attend school in the Geographe Catchment, and enjoy an active outdoor lifestyle (mainly running around the kids to junior sporting events!!) when I am not working,” said Sam.

Thanks for sharing Sam! We are delighted that you bring your extensive experience to both the Regional Estuaries Initiative and the Revitalising Geographe Waterways programs.

Check out this article for more information on the study tour to New Zealand.