Meet Dale!

A passionate sportsman, coach and dairy industry figure, it’s hardly surprising that Dale Serong is so well known and regarded locally. Starting out as a relief milker, he put himself through a dairy farm management course to take on more challenging roles, eventually overseeing a herd of 1,200 cows and eight full-time farm staff. Now, we’re thrilled to welcome Dale to the Lely Center Gippsland team.

"Growing up, I never really decided on a career because I was all about sport", Dale says. "Then I became a Dad at 21.

"What attracted me to a career in dairy farming was the people in the industry. I think they're really caring, hard working and honest people. The type of people I like to be around."

Dale quickly progressed from relief milking to a 2IC role, before going into share farming for seven years.

"In 2008/09 when the milk price crashed and the bushfires came through, we were share farming at Labertouche. The double impact meant our business took a huge financial hit. We took a couple of years to recover but it took a toll on me personally. Mentally and physically, I was just exhausted."

Dale considered leaving the industry, but was offered a Farm Management role at Labertouche Farm, a 1000-cow corporate farm just down the road. He worked there for two years until the farm went on the market, and he was approached by DFP Australia to oversee their two corporate farms.

"I went there as Farm Business Manager, so I was setting up all the systems and working out the strategy of how the farms would operate. We expanded them quite a bit, but made them more efficient at the same time. We restructured a fair bit on both farms, designing and managing the workload to utilise the labour better. I like to find the most efficient way of doing things, so it was a good challenge."

"I’ve always just found farmers to be good people to be around. That was what got me involved in dairy initially. I saw it as a good way to bring up our children."

Dale’s commitment to sports and coaching continued throughout his farming career, which proved to be an asset in his work life, too. 

"I’ve been a sports coach for nearly 30 years now, both cricket and I still coach football. I use very similar skills, such as goal setting and strategy and team culture. Recently I completed a high performance coaching course which is really focused on mindset and system development. I just like to be in that environment, around people who are driven, whether it be at work or in sport."

Now, Dale brings those skills to Lely Center Gippsland in his new role, Strategy and Solutions. 

"I'll help create the vision and work out the strategy for farmers to transition from conventional systems to robotics. Figure out what will work best for them to achieve their goals. Most farmers, particularly the ones putting in new technology, they’re always looking to improve and become more successful."

Dale says he was attracted to the role because of the challenges dairy farmers are currently facing and the difference that robots can make in those areas.

"Labour is a challenge in the industry at the moment. But probably more important is the lifestyle impact it has when you can't find good staff. When I went through the challenges of the bushfires and the milk price cuts, it was very demanding physically and mentally. Life was a battle. And I just see robots as a really good opportunity for farmers to continue to do what they love, but without the physical demands of it.

"What attracted me also, is the brand. I think it’s well known that Lely are the leaders in robotics in the dairy industry. You can see the growth. There’s 50 [Lely] robots in Gippsland and another 26 to go in the next 12 months. Farmers are embracing innovation, and it's exciting helping them take their business to the next level."