Julian Biega
Manning Valley, New South Wales
Julian Biega has been a dairy farmer in the Manning Valley for 32 years, farming on Mambo Island on NSW’s Manning River. He says his ethos is to not only to farm for today, but to farm for tomorrow. A $100,000 grant from the Woolworths Dairy Innovation Fund is set to help Julian install a new solar-powered desalination system which will deliver greater water efficiency and conserve fresh water for nearby communities.
Julian supplies Woolworths with milk for its Farmers’ Own range. He and his wife live on a property that’s been producing milk since the 1890’s. They farm 335 head of cow across 260 hectares.
Although Julian is surrounded by water, his unique position at the mouth of the Manning River means salt water is in abundance, while clean drinking water for the region can be in short supply during periods of doubt, like those endured 18 months ago.
Conscious of the amount of water needed to run and maintain an efficient dairy daily, Julian began looking for better ways to source and conserve water, leading him to discover the potential of desalination.
The Woolworths Dairy Innovation Fund is supporting Julian’s investment in a solar desalination plant which will turn salt water into fresh water and ultimately make his property more self-reliant, no longer needing to draw on community drinking water.
He’ll be developing a more efficient water system, recycling the desalinated water and using it in three different parts of his farm. In the dairy, it will be used to cool fresh milk in a heat exchange unit, then wash down the dairy yards to ensure they’re clean and safe for the cows, and finally it will be funnelled into irrigation across 12 hectares of pasture. It will also provide daily drinking water for the cows.
In recent years, Julian has already made a number of upgrades to the dairy, including solar panels and LED lighting to reduce his carbon footprint.
Julian is investing in his farm for the future and building greater drought resilience. Woolworths is proud to help make this innovative project a reality for this hard working farmer.