Dairy Farmers Need Support
eastAUSmilk has worked tirelessly with the department, processors and active farmers to finalise a plan for the Qld dairy industry. It will be launched soon and has a range of initiatives for industry productivity, sustainability and growth – but it needs Government buy-in to work.
The plan sets out key priorities for the future to help farmers access new technologies and pastures, improve infrastructure for climate resilience and other strategies to increase productivity and farm gate output.
EAM has asked the Qld Government for support in the next budget, or earlier. Farmers all read the news that the next budget will be tight, but compared with big ticket items like infrastructure, housing, education and health, our asks are very low cost with high impact.
The asks relate to extending the popular and effective technology uptake and farm business resilience programs and resources to support implementing the plan and work on new pasture development.
In total, the ask is only $3 million over 4 years, plus extending and improving access to FBRP – all would agree - a small hand out for a big hand up for dairy.
EAM and our farmers will continue to work with the new Government to deliver this support. We commend the Government’s ambitious commitment to increase total Qld agricultural industry total farm gate output to $30 billion by 2030 – and dairy farmers are ready to go to deliver our share.
Importantly for Queensland, a more productive and sustainable dairy industry delivers in spades for local, regional economies while ensuring Queenslanders can drink more home grown milk.
Denise Spinks, Government Relations Manager eastAUSmilk
Dairy Plan Finished - Gone to Government
The Dairy Industry Plan for Queensland has been completed, and eastAUSmilk is now asking Government and industry participants to commit to implementation.
eastAUSmilk expects to meet with the Minister’s advisors and Department of Primary Industries, from early in January, urging that resourcing and implementation get underway as soon as possible.
Driven by concerns about the decline in milk production across the state, the plan is the culmination of extensive consultation – farmer district meetings across Queensland, one-on-one meetings, online feedback options, and individuals emailed their analyses, views, and suggestions.
The plan’s focus is reversing the decline in production, and building the economic viability of dairy farming across Queensland, and identifies four broad priority areas which can make a difference:
financing the future – how we enable capital inflows to the farming section,
pathways into the industry – how we get new participants to operate farms,
risk mitigation for stable production – how we manage climate variability and other risks in a changing world, and
productivity improvement – how can we get the same, or more, milk for less inputs.
The plan identifies fifteen action items which are best placed to provide responses to those priorities, with five of the 15 prioritised for immediate action
Improved support and more accessible information, including legal options, for industry entry and exit,
Comprehensive climate and natural disaster program for dairying e.g. infrastructure to mitigate heat stress, mitigate feed issues in the wet, on farm sustainability, renewables,
Identification of barriers and solutions to expand feedstock options, including imported strains, for pest and disease management, and further understand the barriers for the use of GMO feedstock options, and explore potential solutions,
Support and facilitate on-farm uptake of changed practice, including new automation, technology and production systems, and
Improving the productivity, and management, of pastures.
The action items not in the top five are to be addressed, as resources and time permit.
Implementation of the plan is to be managed by an industry led group including eastAUSmilk, processors, Government, and SubTropical Dairy.
Mike Smith
Queensland’s Election and Dairy Farmers
eastAUSmilk congratulates David Crisafulli on his election as the 41st Premier of Queensland – the first LNP Premier since 2015.
The biggest issue in Queensland for eastAUSmilk is reversing the decline of milk production across the State. For that reason, we’ve made sure we’ve kept the previous LNP Opposition up-to-date on where we’re going with development of the dairy industry plan, both Shadow Agriculture Minister Tony Perrett, and the Opposition leader’s office. Now they’re in Government, we’ve already requested meetings so we can give the new Agriculture Minister and the new Premier’s office an update.
The new Cabinet hasn’t been announced yet, but we’re expecting Tony Perrett will be Agriculture Minister, or in an equally influential and senior portfolio – we know he understands what the dairy industry needs, and that the new Agriculture Minister will be presented very soon with a plan for the industry’s future.
Based on our discussions this year as the plan has been developing, we’re very confident eastAUSmilk and the dairy industry will get a good hearing and some positive results from the new Minister. We’re also working closely with Department of Agriculture and Fisheries on the dairy plan, so they’re ready to give the new Minister advice about the plan’s importance and content as soon as it is needed.
Arising from feedback from dairy farmers, processors and others in the industry during October, the Advisory Group drafting the plan, led by eastAUSmilk, is rapidly moving towards having a final draft plan ready.
There’s a big difference between the way Brisbane voted and the rest of the state, but the many regional seats switching to the LNP guarantee a very solid voice for Queensland’s regions, and agriculture in particular, in the Crisafulli government. The new Premier comes from a canegrower family, and several of those Members of Parliament likely to be in the Crisafulli Cabinet have a solid agricultural background.
Mike Smith, eastAUSmilk Government Relations Manager