ADF elections provide clear mandate for change

At Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) AGM, existing board members Heath Cook, Ben Bennett and David Beca were all re-elected to the ADF board. This is a good result for NSW and Queensland dairy farmers that eastAUSmilk represents. Also, it would have been a mockery if there were no Victorian dairy farmer on the ADF board given that over 60% of Australia’s milk comes from Victoria.

It is a win for all dairy farmers in Australia who want change in the industry. For too long, the industry has been held back by people and organisations who want to keep the industry the same. It is now well beyond time for ADF to lead the industry forward and the excuses must stop.

There are a few issues in the industry that must be fixed by ADF in the next few years. These will only be fixed by strategic, clear and forceful leadership by ADF. Being nice has failed ADF for many years and has led to ADF being largely ignored by other stakeholders within and outside the industry.

Massive change is required in our RD&E sector. We must see the significant RD&E resources available used effectively on priority issues to drive profitability for farmers. We need to see a focus on regional solutions and programs which drive profitability not a centralised model which is doomed to fail farmers. The current DA plan is even greater centralisation, and this is a disaster. Also, we cannot allow processors to continue to be equal partners with ADF to oversee RD&E unless they contribute equal funding.

Another priority for ADF is ensuring integrity in price setting. It was disgraceful to see prices in southern Australia plummet in July this year to levels well below what economics could justify. Prices around $8/kg were not justifiable and showed the power of processors and ADPF to dictate prices. This compares to an announcement by Fonterra last week for a price of $NZ9.50-10.50 which is over $A1/kg more than what Australian farmers are receiving. This plummeting of milk price has made a complete mockery of the dairy code and highlights the massive problems in competition policy.

Eric Danzi, CEO eastAUSmilk

It is time to vote in the ADF elections

The Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) AGM is being held on 28 November 2024. NSW dairy farmer Heath Cook, Victorian dairy farmer Ben Bennett and independent director David Beca are all re standing for the ADF board. Tasmanian dairy farmer Andrew Aldridge is also standing for election.

Heath, Ben and David have been supportive of eastAUSmilk and our members. They were all central in approving our members from NSW as members of ADF. You would think it would be important for our national dairy farmer body to have as many dairy farmer members as possible. Consequently, any dairy farmers who apply for ADF membership who are legally able to be accepted would be. However, there are many dairy farmer representatives from NSW, SA and Tasmania who have actively campaigned to try and reverse the decision to allow eastAUSmilk members in NSW to be members of ADF.

ADF has a long way to go to be effective in addressing the problems that exist in the dairy industry. The ADF board is just starting the journey to fix the problems in the dairy industry and we would expect much greater outcomes in the next year. For this to occur, ADF needs a strong and proactive board ready to lead the industry in the difficult times.

I believe that Heath, Ben and David are best placed to lead the industry forward. I believe they all genuinely have the interests of all dairy farmers at heart and will fight for what is best for dairy farmers. Unfortunately, there are many in the dairy industry who are meant to look after the interests of dairy farmers but they clearly do not.

Please vote for Heath, Ben and David at the ADF election. Alternatively, please give your proxy to myself or my vice president Tim Bale from NSW to ensure your voice is heard.

Joe Bradley, eastAUSmilk President

ADF approves eastAUSmilk members in NSW

It was very positive to see the ADF board approve eastAUSmilk members in NSW as members of ADF. This is an issue that has been ongoing for almost 3 years, and it is great to see that it has now been resolved.

As eastAUSmilk has significantly increased our membership in NSW in the past few years, more and more farmers in NSW have wanted to be involved in ADF and applied for membership. This is positive since it is important for a significant number of farmers to have a say in in ADF which is the national voice for dairy farmers in Australia.

I would like to thank the directors of ADF for their resolution of this issue. Particularly NSW dairy farmer Heath Cook who has championed this issue for many years and ADF president Ben Bennett.

I know that many NSW dairy farmers who have been approved as ADF members are very happy and grateful that this has occurred. I expect that this will create further interest from dairy farmers in NSW to become members of eastAUSmilk and ADF.

eastAUSmilk looks forward to ADF moving with the times and showing leadership on some critical issues of importance to dairy farmers across Australia. The industry is currently in a very difficult position and the reduction in milk prices in many states this year has made things even more difficult.

In this state of flux, strong leadership from ADF is a must to force change. There is no value in working to maintain the status quo when the current situation is so difficult for so many farmers. I’m sure this is the expectation from the new ADF members from NSW that ADF has just approved as well as most other dairy farmers in Australia.

Eric Danzi, CEO eastAUSmilk