![Ben Walker, with son Blue, 3, says the newly installed livestock underpass at the Mount Schank dairy he sharefarms has made an immeasurable difference to productivity. Ben Walker, with son Blue, 3, says the newly installed livestock underpass at the Mount Schank dairy he sharefarms has made an immeasurable difference to productivity.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/166850433/e49fa398-93c3-4585-8b08-cce3b4bbd890.JPG/r0_218_4288_2630_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
THE first livestock underpasses delivered through the state government's grant program are now fully functional, with at least 10 either completed or underway in the South East.
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The program, launched by PIRSA in 2021, allows SA farmers to apply for a grant up to 50 percent of the cost of a livestock underpass up to the value of $100,000, with $3 million available.
Ben Walker and his fiancée, Michelle Roe, sharefarm at a Mount Schank property in the state's South East and said the underpass was always on the cards for the property.
The property spans both sides of a road directly connected to a highway, and with the property's grazing pad split across the two paddocks, livestock had to navigate the crossing twice a day.
"Typically our cows are using that side of the farm in the mornings after milking," he said.
"Then they'll cross back over for afternoon milking as well.
"We've got 800 milking cows, so it's a bit of work to get them over a road safely."
Mr Walker said when the farm was initially purchased, the close proximity to the highway was an immediate concern.
"When Chris bought the farm he always knew there was a risk factor with cows crossing the road when the highway was so close," he said.
"Previous owners had had issues with cows getting onto the highway, so an underpass was always on the cards, it was just a matter of funding it.
"Chris managed to hold off and when the grants came through it was the perfect opportunity to get one started.
"We're really lucky to sharefarm for Chris because we wouldn't be doing it without him and he's really focused on making sure the farm operates at its full potential through things like the underpass."
The underpass was installed about nine months ago by local contractors and has made a significant difference to the farm's day to day operations according to Mr Walker.
"It's a time saver because they can go straight out to the paddock after milking," he said.
"You also have peace of mind and don't have to worry about safety issues for the public driving along the road or the highway, and we don't have to worry about losing a cow.
"There's milk tankers up and down that road all the time, neighbours and just people in general using it, so we're much more at ease now they don't have to be on the road.
"There's no waste on the road now either, which I'm pretty sure everyone appreciates."
Any new addition is not without its own challenges though according to Mr Walker.
"We're pumping the effluent back to the milking shed's existing system which we haven't fully mastered yet," he said.
"It's quite a dry fibrous product, so we need a better system to handle that.
"We're looking at ways to keep it from separating before it gets back to the shed, but that's a work in progress."
Looking to the future, Mr Walker said it was now full steam ahead for the dairy.
"We'll replace a few pivots over the winter but otherwise our infrastructure is where we'd like it to be," he said.
"The farm's really well set up now so now we're just focusing on converting that grass into milk."
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South Australian Dairyfarmers Association chief executive officer Andrew Curtis said the government funding for livestock underpasses was vital for the industry.
"It's very common for dairy farmers to have a road splitting their property," he said.
"There's lots of evidence of how much underpasses influence productivity.
"From an individual business point of view, the cows aren't standing around wasting time, but they also have broader community benefits.
"Road infrastructure doesn't get damaged and they support community safety by not allowing cows and cars to be on the road at critical times like mornings and evenings when it starts to get foggy."
Mr Curtis said uptake of the program from farmers was promising, with about 10 underpasses either complete or underway in the South East and further properties on the Fleurieu Peninsula looking into the program.
"Dairy is a pretty good place to be at the moment after a decade or so of it not necessarily being the easiest," he said.
"There are plenty of farmers looking at ways to expand and this is one of them.
"Less time spent moving livestock is more time spent elsewhere, and the more productive a farm becomes, the more it can invest, and in turn boost the economy through other projects or even more employees.
"For every job created on farm, you can create further jobs down the supply chain, so investing in the industry through these kinds of programs makes it stronger."
The livestock underpass grant scheme is open until June 30.