Milk drought in Far North Queensland dairy towns blamed on ‘perfect storm’

A region once home to hundreds of dairy farms has been running low on milk, with supermarket shelves stripped bare of the essential item.

The Atherton Tablelands, west of Cairns, was built on the back of the dairy industry.  

In 2000, about 185 local milk producers supplied the local factory. Today, that number has dropped to about 45, with many squarely pointing the finger at the impacts from the deregulation of the dairy industry 23 years ago.

Local dairy farmer and former Dairy Farmers Australia director James Geraghty said milk was being trucked in from Brisbane, but demand had outstripped supply in several Far North Queensland towns, including Atherton, Malanda and Mareeba.

To read the article in full go to: ABC News

Source: ABC Far North, Kristy Sexton-McGrath, Adam Stephen and Charlie McKillop, 4 May 2023