Which type of dairy is proposed?

The definitions are intended to provide a clear distinction for the different types of dairy systems. However, the definitions contain multiple tests relating to facilities and management of the dairy herd which determine whether the business is operating a dairy system based predominantly on grazed pastures, or a dairy system based on a restricted facility feeding system.

Figure 2 illustrates how the presence of certain facilities and/or the management of a dairy herd will determine which definition applies to the proposed dairy development (as per the SI-LEP dairy definitions).

Figure 2: Determining the SI-LEP dairy definition of a proposed development
Note: this diagram is an interpretation of the current dairy definitions and decision pathway.

It can be difficult to determine whether the presence of certain facilities on the farm will result in the dairy being classified as either ‘pasture based’ or ‘restricted’. Table 3 outlines the likely dairy definition of NSW dairy farm facilities explained in Section 2.2