ON Brett and Judy Gledhill's dairy farm at Nanneella, an air of change is lingering above their irrigated pastures. Flies are noisily buzzing around their 200-head milking herd, but the animals are surprisingly unruffled.
Last year the couple made a conscious decision to switch to a2 genetics.
Since April, they have supplied Southern Processing, Kyabram, which provides product to the rapidly expanding a2 brand for the southern end of Australia.
"I had an opportunity to work in the Southern Processing factory for a while," Mr Gledhill said.
"I could see sales were growing and there were obvious health benefits too."
After surviving the highs and lows of the dairy export market, including the shocking milk price crash of 2008, the couple could see there were other benefits of supplying a smaller company.
He says Southern Processing pays them a 4c per litre premium.
"I didn't want to give up dairying, but I needed a new challenge," he said.
And so their a2 journey began.
First up, the couple's 200-head milking herd was tested to see if they produced the a2 protein.
The arduous process, which conducts a tail-hair test on each animal, can take up to three months.
"It confirmed we had about 90 cows and young stock that were a2," Mr Gledhill said.
It was a good start, but the Gledhills still had a long way to go. "We want to be 100 per cent a2 by June next year," he said.
Although the couple's herd is predominantly Holstein, they recently purchased 27 Jersey cows at a local dispersal sale.
The animals were sired by a2 bulls but they still need to be hair-tested.
They also have a list of all the Holstein and Jersey sires that have been a2 tested.
If all goes to plan, the Gledhills will be well on track to meeting their a2 goal.
One of the advantages of making the switch is the couple have not had to make any drastic changes to their operation.
"We are still looking after the cows and doing the same thing everyday," he said.
However, Southern Processing has stipulated a desire for flat-lined supply, as opposed to seasonal.
"At the moment we calve twice a year, but we have already begun to change to three times," Mr Gledhill said.
Calving will now occur in August-September, May-June and February-March.
Mr Gledhill says the a2 target has provided him with an exciting challenge.
"This is a market that is going to grow," he said.
"And I think you've got to step outside of your comfort zone."
Since swapping over, he has noticed a temperament change in the cows too.
"This is just a personal observation, but the a2 cows are quieter, happier," he said.
And after more than six months supplying a smaller milk processor, he says the difference has been amazing.
"The communication is so much better," he said. "We are about to establish a farm group between suppliers too - because we are all heading in the same direction and doing the same things."
On the health side of things, a2 milk, which contains the original beta-casein protein, has been found to improve digestive well-being.
But with the benefits of the milk gaining pace, exactly how fast is the a2 market growing?
Fairfax reported earlier this year the New Zealand-listed company was the only brand to increase it sales in Australia since the supermarket milk "price war" began in January.
And in a market where Coles and Woolworths are continuing to slash the price on their house-brand milk to attract sales, it was no easy feat to pull off.
A2 Dairy Products Australia chief executive Peter Nathan says during the past four years sales have risen by 700 per cent.
"That's a very compelling figure," he said.
"When the milk wars began, it didn't concern us at all. We have a clear point of difference and our consumers recognise that."
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