But looks can be deceiving.
His paddocks are green with a covering of pasture after more than 100 days of consecutive irrigation — a necessity amid one of the driest seasons he can remember.
But while the water has been desperately pumped in a bid to grow feed for his livestock, Mr Williams is bracing for an extraordinarily high-power bill.
«Last year was an average season and we paid $110,000 for the year for electricity,» he said.
«This year, if this dry weather keeps up, we might [be] pushing towards $200,000.»
High bills have some considering their futures
Running a dairy farm has always been an expensive undertaking. There is the cost of the cattle, feed, irrigation, as well as the price of running the dairy, cleaning, and keeping milk cool.
But as power prices continue to ratchet up, Mr Williams said some farmers, including himself, could be forced to consider their futures if no relief came.
«It’s going to come to a point where something’s going to have to happen. You just can’t keep running things down forever,» he said.
«If things don’t turn, a lot of people are going to get out of the industry.
«There’s quite a possibility [I’ll leave the industry] if things don’t improve. You’ve got to make money, you’ve got to make a living.»
Dairy industry body looks to boost use of renewables
With high power prices a central concern for many farmers, sections of the dairy industry were looking to boost the use of renewable energy.
The NSW dairy advocacy group, Dairy Connect, has announced they would link with renewable energy companies to develop ways to provide relief for farmers feeling the high power price pinch.
Part of their aim included researching and developing renewable energy technology that could help.
«We believe industry, in conjunction with government, needs to find ways to be able to make energy more affordable,» Dairy Connect CEO Shaughn Morgan said.
«We want to ensure the dairy industry continues to have the green, clean image that it deserves, and we want to be able to find companies that ensure renewable energy can be provided to farms throughout NSW and Australia, at a cost that’s affordable.
«That’s so important for the economic wellbeing of this country, and to ensure the economic wellbeing of dairy farms.»
Mr Morgan said he was confident dairy farmers would take up effective renewable energy options if they were developed.
«They’re looking at making savings; they want to make sure their overheads are at a level that’s sustainable,» he said.
«They don’t want to see their farm stagnate. We don’t want to see the dairy industry continue not to grow in a manner that it should.
«We want to make fresh milk available in this state at higher levels than they’re being produced at the current time. That can only be done in partnership with other organisations and companies and industries that can provide savings to the farming enterprise, to ensure they survive into the long term.
«We want future generations of dairy farmers to be out there and to continue to see a reason to stay in the industry.
«If we can’t make this work, if we can’t see this grow, there will be great concerns into the long term about not just the dairy industry, but agriculture generally.
«If we go to micro-grids, if we go with solar, if we go to battery technology, we need to get away from those energy sources that don’t add to the economic wellbeing of both the farming enterprise, the economic wellbeing of the economy, or the economic wellbeing of the provider of the service.
«These are vitally important ways for us to move forward.»
Renewables a ‘catch 22’
Farmer David Williams said he was not certain a shift to renewables would bring the price relief that was hoped.
«I think [renewables are] a good thing, but the trouble is, it’s going to be expensive,» he said.
«I can’t see renewables actually being cheaper.
«We have thought about putting in solar for our dairy; the trouble is, the payback time is a fair while, and the other problem is we haven’t got the money to spend on it. It’s a catch 22.
«I’m not sure [Dairy Connect’s plan is] going to have any impact.
«It probably doesn’t hurt, as it puts it back on the government that there is a problem … this is not just going to be the dairy industry — it’s going to be every manufacturing industry.
«The supermarkets and the processors — they’re just going to pass their costs back on to us, because we’re always the last in the chain.
«It makes you really mad, and the government just does absolutely nothing to help.
«It’s pretty sad when diesel is actually cheaper than electricity.
«It’s just the fact that we’ve already got the electricity infrastructure in, but we’d be better off running a diesel pump.»
