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
Thanks Colin
Highly respected NSW dairy farmer Colin Thompson passed away last week. Colin and his wife Erina ran an elite Total Mixed Ration (TMR) dairy farm in Cowra. They milked around 300-350 cows in a free stall and averaged around 45L per cow per day. Colin was widely regarded as being one of the top handful of dairy farmers in Australia and was a real gentleman with integrity and a desire to help others.
Colin was a real leader in the industry and was passionate about dairy farming. He was obsessive about doing everything absolutely spot on and this obsession resulted in elite results that many other farmers watched and followed. I knew that Colin’s knowledge and experience would be of great interest to dairy farmers in Queensland. And I knew that dairy farmers in Queensland, especially TMR farmers, could learn a lot from Colin.
As a result, in early 2020 I asked Colin to give presentations throughout Queensland about his farm and journey as a dairy farmer. His farming story impressed a lot of farmers and really blew some away with what was possible. It was clearly not realistic or practical for most farmers to copy everything that Colin did.
Colin was not egotistical re his approach, but rather trying to help farmers find a few things of relevance to their farm to improve their operation. I know a number of farmers made changes as a result of Colin’s grand tour. From small changes like putting in more water troughs near feed pads to spending a lot of money in new concrete silage pits.
Colin had an obsession that cows must have an abundance of clean water to drink at all times. Any time he saw anything but pristine water for cows he would ask me “would you drink it?”. I would always answer no and he would say well neither will cows. I got the message Colin.
Thanks Colin for everything you did to lead the dairy industry and be a farmer that others followed with your farming practices. And to Erina and your family, my thoughts are with you.
Eric Danzi, eastAUSmilk CEO
Unfathomable – devastated by bushfire again
Imagine how you would feel if you were facing the same fate as you did in 2019-2020 devasted by bushfire.
It is unfathomable to think about but that is what happened to one dairy farmer in the NSW south coast in the Bega Valley region. From Coolagolite Road, Coolagolite (Bega Valley LGA) in the north right through to Cuttagee, Barragga Bay, Murrah, Bunga and as far south to Goalen Head is where the bushfire burned or become far too close to three dairy farms. The bushfire affected area was 6,700 ha in size.
After the fires in 2019-2020 the family were able to rebuild and return to their farm to be caught off guard this time around and have it burned to the ground 3 years later. It is not the fact that the grassed areas and established trees are burned as fire does not discriminate. Livestock, water infrastructure, fences and the list goes on of farm losses that cost millions of dollars to repair and rebuild. Let alone the enormous mental and emotional toll that a disaster such as this can have on a family and community.
The Bega Valley is a dairy farming region, are a close community and it is understood that the fires came close to destroying surrounding farms. One of which was also devastated by fire in February 2020 in the aftermath of the Black Summer fires, however was fortunate to be spared this time.
Farmers, especially dairy farmers work tirelessly to build their property as a sustainable model for years to come and to hopefully one day hand over to their children, to have it destroyed in an instant places enormous pressure on them and their family. If devastation of this magnitude keeps happening to our agricultural communities there will be a shortage of farmers in the future, hence a supply shortage of dairy products which is not something we want to occur.
It is easy to say ‘keep on going’ as farmers always do, but with the forecast of a horror summer for bushfires it is hard to stay so positive. One thing is for certain farmers will always look out for their neighbour!
Lynelle Rogers, eastAUSmilk Executive Officer
What will politicians in NSW give dairy?
The NSW state election on Saturday 25th March provides an opportunity for advocacy bodies, such as eastAUSmilk, to seek commitments from politicians on behalf of its members.
This will be no different when Queensland goes to the polls on 26th October 2024.
In NSW, it is critical that government and the labor opposition recognises the pivotal role that dairy farmers play in the 'day-to-day' lives of its citizens and the nutritional value of milk for the community.
The current NSW dairy position is grim, with Dairy Australia showing NSW milk production declining in year-to-date figures of -11.8% for January and the number of dairy farms declining from over 1,700 farms in 2000 to under 500 dairy farms now.
What is required are forward-thinking, positive and collaborative election promises to address the underlying systemic issues within the NSW dairy industry.
The NSW labor opposition has committed to appointing a statutory and independent NSW Dairy and Fresh Food Commissioner to revitalise the NSW dairy industry.
The NSW labor opposition has promised that the Commissioner would oversee, in the first year:
An effective mediation and arbitration process for NSW farmers in consultation with local industry and the ACCC (in conjunction with the mandatory code for dairy);
A truth in labelling policy for dairy and fresh food;
A model uniform national standard to deliver consistency in testing, sampling and the calibration of equipment used in fresh milk production to ensure a fair farm price;
Review best practice business models, review contracts and plans for long term industry sustainability as well as better competition and succession planning for dairy families; and
Convening a whole of dairy industry roundtable to review the state of the dairy industry and the 28 recommendations arising from the NSW dairy action plan.
This is an important and pivotal initiative. It is deserving of bipartisan support.
While the NSW liberal and nationals government has not made specific dairy announcements, it has announced increased funding to the Farm Innovation Fund, doubling the amount farmers will be able to access; as well as expanding fee-free training through its investment in upskilling and growing the agricultural workforce to livestock industry.
Prior to you voting on Saturday, ask questions of your politicians and be informed about what each political party will provide to agriculture generally and dairy specifically. Every vote counts for a long-term sustainable dairy industry.
Shaughn Morgan, Co-CEO eastAUSmilk