Australian dairy imports up 30 per cent in 2022-23
The Australian dairy industry has slipped from fourth to fifth place on the list of world dairy exporters.
Australia ranks behind New Zealand, the European Union, the United States and, for the first time this year, the United Kingdom.
Australian dairy exports were worth $3.7 billion in 2022-23, down from $3.8 billion the previous year, the Australian Dairy Industry In Focus 2023 report released on November 15 has revealed.
But Australia remained a significant exporter of dairy products, despite accounting for about 1 per cent of the world's estimated milk production, Dairy Australia industry analyst Isabel Dando said.
Australia's share of world exports fell from 4.8pc in 2021-22 to 4.7pc in 2022-23, while the UK's share grew from 4.5pc in 2021-22 to 5.3pc in 2022-23.
Australia now exports 30pc of the milk it produced, down from about 50pc two decades ago,
"The share of milk exported has contracted over time due to population growth and an overall decline in milk production," Ms Dando said.
The report also revealed that Australia's milk production and number of dairy farms continued to fall.
Carlene Dowie, Queensland Country Life, 15 November 2023.
This article requires a subscription to read, for more information click here.
Dairy can’t shrink to success: Australian Dairy Conference told
The Australian dairy industry can't shrink its way to success, the Australian Dairy Conference in Hobart was told…
Source: Carlene Dowie, Farmonline National, 23 February 2023
Paul van Heerwaarden appointed to Dairy Australia board
The outgoing chief executive officer of Bega Group Paul van Heerwaarden has been appointed to the Dairy Australia board.
Dairy Australia said he was appointed after a thorough search and interview process.
Mr van Heerwaarden joining the skills-based board as a non-executive director with dairy supply chain and product promotion experience.
Mr van Heerwaarden has been with Bega Group for more than a decade and has been in the CEO role for nearly six years.
His retirement from Bega was announced in October.
Dairy Australia's board selection committee chair Tania Luckin said: "Paul will bring significant business expertise including sales, marketing and a deep understanding of future trends and issues that could impact on the sustainability and profitability of the dairy industry.
"Along with a strategic mindset he has a breadth and depth of experience in dairy and across agriculture more broadly having held a number of executive roles. This experience will assist Dairy Australia to continue to deliver for farmers and the dairy industry."
READ MORE: Dairy Australia digs into reserves as levy income declines
A board vacancy became available due to the resignation of Russell Abotomey.
Mr van Heerwaarden is appointed until November 2023 with the opportunity to seek a further three-year term at the 2023 AGM.
More information on the director election process is available on the Dairy Australia website.
Source: Carlene Dowie, Farmonline National, 19 December 2022
ADF board candidates want to halt milk production decline
The three candidates for the Australian Dairy Farmers board want to turn around declining milk production in Australia.
But they have vastly different priorities for making this happen.
Incumbent ADF president Rick Gladigau, from South Australia, is facing a challenge from south-western Victorian dairy farmers Ian Morris and Glenn Britnell for a seat on the five-member board.
The three faced a Victorian Farmers Federation online forum last week to outline their case for election at the ADF's annual general meeting on Thursday.
Ian Morris, from Cobden, Vic, is fresh off having won a court case against the Victorian Farmers Federation in July.
Mr Morris launched legal action after the VFF terminated his membership while he was running for the presidency of its commodity group, the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria.
He wants to see a complete overhaul of ADF and Dairy Australia's structure.
The former World Bank economist said the industry needed to have the right framework to deal with the extensive range of issues facing it.
"The dairy industry is at a major tipping point, as the national milk pool collapses by 3 per cent per year," he said.
"Paradoxically, in recent times, we have had relatively good milk prices, reasonable seasons, except for fires and patches of drought and floods, but farmers are leaving in significant numbers with many farms being converted to alternate uses.
"This is simply not good for the industry."
Mr Morris said ADF had done some good work in addressing some of the issues facing the industry, but more needed to be done, particularly around supermarket power over processors and issues such as the commitment to net zero and social licence to operate.
ADF needed to consult more with farmers on these issues and focus on solutions while keeping farm profitability top of mind.
He said industry reform was critical to achieving this.
"Dairy leaders started the Dairy Plan process by indicating that the existing advocacy arrangements and structure were not fit for purpose and were broken," he said.
"No discernible progress on this very important set of issues and advocacy reform has been made by dairy leaders."
Mr Britnell also wants to address the decline in the industry - but he wants to do this by bringing the views of grassroots farmer to the table.
"What we see now is an industry that's in decline and we need to be able to put a put the brakes on it," he said.
Mr Gladigau staked his bid on his track record with ADF and on the need to have stability at a board level.
He pointed to the Australian Dairy Plan, the mandatory Code of Conduct and advocating for dairy to be an essential service during the COVID crisis as some of these achievements.
He pointed to more recent wins as the management of biosecurity issues this year and the development of ADF federal election platform.
He said one of the biggest issues facing the organisation was ongoing funding, something he had been working on with the past chief executive officer and the new CEO.
Board stability was a critical issue.
"I am actually the currently the longest-serving director on ADF," he said.
"We've only got five directors, and three of those were actually appointed last year, so stability to me is a big key to how ADF can continue to function."
Biggest issues facing dairy industry
Mr Gladigau nominated labour as the biggest issue facing the industry and said this was driving a lack of confidence.
"Farmers are doing long hours, and some recently have had the extra burdens of flooding and wet weather," he said.
"Some are getting on in age a bit, like me, and with no family to take over and and feeling a bit worn out.
"When we see large dairies closing down because they can't find staff, this becomes a big concern for industry.
"And smaller farms sell up due to good land prices and retire and move to beef."
Mr Gladigau said the other part of the labour challenge was the bookwork.
"Keeping up with all the IR laws, wages, super, sick leave, holiday pay and now we also have domestic violence leave added to the list," he said.
Mr Gladigau said collaboration within the industry was key.
"One of the biggest concerns is to increase Australia's milk production," he said.
"I am concerned where we are heading and what we may look like if this continues.
"There are so many pieces to this puzzle as to how to make this happen, and that's why we need a well-resourced ADF.
"We need to build confidence ... through developing relationships between our processors and farmers for a secure profitable farmgate milk price for multiple years.
"The processors can then grow with confidence to grow value and markets, plus returns.
"We need win:wins across the supply chain.
"Unity and collaboration is needed to be able to build confidence."
Mr Britnell agreed that labour was a big issue but part of a wider issue of the loss of dairy farms and dairy farmers from the industry.
"It obviously takes a lot of effort to try and turn that around when we've got influences like supermarkets and government that we have to lobby all the time," he said.
"There's no silver bullet to the scenarios but at least we can try and make sure that everyone's voices are heard on these sorts of things - to be able to work as a team."
Mr Morris said the failure of dairy advocacy across the country was the biggest issue facing the industry.
"The dairy industry needs a robust advocacy capacity, which can engage with government and the community," he said.
"The current advocacy structure is clearly not working.
"It is totally underfunded, and the sustained drop in membership of state bodies, particularly in Victoria, compounds the risk to the current advocacy capacity of the industry."
Mr Morris said he also wanted to see Dairy Australia be more accountable and high performing.
"There is also concerning skepticism among farmers, particularly as reflected in the dairy levy poll, about the accountability, transparency and benefits being derived from DA," he said.
He wants to see DA's forward five-year program of work subject to independent technical and economic evaluations, managed by ADF.
Mr Morris wants ADF restructured with all dairy farmers eligible to join the organisation.
Dairy farmer members from each state would elect representatives to ADF with voting rights equivalent to their share of the milk pool.
The ADF board would have a strong strategic role in setting priorities for DA as a Part B member of that organisation.
Outgoing Australian Dairy Farmers chief executive David Inall says farm advocacy faces challenges
Farmer advocacy is facing a funding crunch, according to outgoing Australian Dairy Farmers chief executive officer David Inall.
This is occurring at the same time as increasing demands are being placed on farmer representative organisations.
After 31 years in farm advocacy roles here and in the United States, Mr Inall is moving out of the sector at the end of this week, having accepted the position of CEO with the Master Grocers Australia, an employer organisation for 2700 independent retailers across Australia.
He said things had changed significantly since he started as a policy officer with the NSW Dairy Farmers Association in 1991.
"Over time the resourcing of peak commodity groups and state farming organisations has decreased significantly," he said.
And no one has been able to identify a solution to the problem.
"The NFF (National Farmers Federation) is on their third review of ag representation," Mr Inall said.
Options such as sponsorship had been tried but hadn't succeeded.
"The money is still in the industry, but how do those organisations access it," he said. "The model is outdated."
Increasing demands
Mr Inall said the demands placed on farmer representative organisations had increased in the time since he was first involved.
In the digital age, governments moved fast on issues while global issues also played a bigger role.
This had created a resources strain.
ADF had a staffing level of 3.5 that needed to be across a wide raft of issues.
"One of the things I pride myself on is the good team I've had for five years," Mr Inall said.
The key had been to focus on key areas where ADF could deliver results.
He nominated $1 milk ending and the dairy code of conduct as two wins during his time as CEO.
Many organisations and individuals played a part in creating noise around $1 milk and highlighting it was a bad deal for dairy farmers.
"But where ADF really comes in is we're the national voice of reason," Mr Inall said.
"Right at the very end, we were there to have very sensitive and discreet conversations with Woolworths that led to that announcement when Woolworths were going up 10 cents."
ADF played a key role in the development and implementation of the dairy code of conduct.
"That's been the most significant government intervention project in the industry that I can recall for some considerable time," Mr Inall said.
"And while many organisations may like to claim ownership, rest assured that it was ADF that did a lot of legwork to get that over the line and particularly developing content for it."
Mr Inall said some of this work necessarily was behind the scenes.
"You know it's a bit of a tightrope to walk, where you don't necessarily want to upset the people that you're dealing with, but you also need your members to know what's going on," he said.
Mr Inall said effectively communicating with farmers was a challenge with limited resources.
ADF used the media and provided updates via email but the most effective way was to talk directly with farmers.
"There is no better way to communicate than actually be face to face, actually get out on the road and be sitting in front of a whole lot of farmers and have these discussions," he said.
"The budget really just doesn't allow it - it's a big country obviously to get around."
ADF tried to make the most of limited resources by holding meetings with farmers in conjunction with the state dairy farming organisations but it was still challenging.
Big issues
Mr Inall nominated labour as the biggest issue facing the dairy industry. He said he was aware of farmers who had sold their cows and got out of the industry simply they did not have staff to effectively run the business.
"We know there's multi levels to this as we've found through our agricultural workforce strategy," he said.
"We've taken an election platform to the government, which I think is one of the best pieces of work ADF has done, we took 38 policy ideas to government and we are now starting to work through those."
Labour issues were everything from getting people to work on farms, getting visas and the backpacker resource not being what it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The key to solving the problem long term was promoting dairy as a career, which was happening through programs like Cows Create Careers.
Mr Inall said in his role in the past five years he had met with participants in the young farmer study tours and was impressed with the quality of people attracted to the industry.
"There's clearly a lot of smart, young ambitious people out there and they have my utmost respect," he said.
"So the industry is still attracting people like that, which is great.
"What I'd love to see is for those people to get more involved in the advocacy side."
Static production levels in Australia, even with buoyant prices, were also an issue.
The industry needed to work out how to create pathways for people who wanted to be involved to be able to milk cows.
The other big global issue was around animal welfare and environmental stewardship and increasing demands being placed on farmers around these.
But there had to be a balance there in terms of farmers being able to keep on producing.
But increasingly I believe what works well for agriculture ... is you need to work with the government as a partner in our business. – David Inall
Mr Inall pointed to the Australian Dairy Industry Sustainability Framework as helping to achieve that balance for the industry.
The sustainability debate highlighted the other big change that had occurred in the relationship between farmers and their organisations and governments.
"If I think back to '70s and '80s, which was before my time, but certainly in the '90s, there was this sense that if agriculture wasn't happy, one way - almost a leading way - in which you would respond would be to take on the government," Mr Inall said.
"And whether it was marching in Canberra or certainly putting out aggressive media statement showing the government's got it all wrong.
"Now that's still important and, as a lobbyist, I'd say that it's critically important that the government knows that you're there to hold them to account and they know that you're going to call them out if we think they've got it wrong.
"But increasingly I believe what works well for agriculture ... is you need to work with the government as a partner in our business."
Mr Inall said it was vital to have good relationships with people in the departments advising governments, as well as with the ministers and government members.
"What I pride myself in doing is building a reputation so that they know that ADF is the trusted body," he said.
View Fort home-bred cow takes 2022 International Dairy Week Holstein championship
Taking the International Dairy Week Holstein championship was special for the Templeton family with the cow View Fort Dictator Dottie being a third-generation animal bred on their farm at Tarwin, Vic.
The Templetons - Matt and Nicola and Matt's parents Bruce and Jan - have enjoyed considerable success at IDW over the years.
View Fort Dictator Dottie took all before it at this year's event, claiming the Australian Grand Champion Cow award, as well as the Holstein championship.
In 2020 the Templetons also took the double with an Avonlea Holstein cow.
But this year's win was especially satisfying with the winner View Fort Dictator Dottie the embodiment of their View Fort Holsteins breeding philosophy.
Matt Templeton said being a home-bred cow meant a lot.
His father imported the cow's granddam as an embryo from Canada in 2006.
He had been impressed with embryo's dam Bridgeview Gibson Dottie when he saw it before the Royal Winter Fair.
Bridgeview Gibson Dottie went on to win the long-time production cow class in Canada.
"She's a 96-point cow - and just a cow that exemplifies what we try to breed for still today," Matt said.
"Just overall balanced dairy quality and very good udders, that's the main thing.
"We milk cows every day of the year and udders is how we make money."
Eight-year-old View Fort Dictator Dottie had had five calves and was a no-fuss cow in the herd.
Nicole said Dictator Dottie was a great herd cow, who had two daughters and two granddaughters in the herd already.
"She's a prolific breeder and we think the ideal dairy cow," she said.
Matt said they hadn't yet decided what was next for the cow.
Dictator Dottie calved only in November and was on heat the day before the show.
The Templetons milk a rolling average of 240 cows in their herd in Gippsland.
Matt said after a wet season, it had finally dried out in December and would hopefully roll through to autumn.
"But we don't need another wet winter," he said.
Holstein judge Murray Sowter, Moss Vale, NSW, said it was difficult to go past the aged cow for his champion.
"A cow that just about ticks all the boxes for me, a cow that is beautifully balanced, hard topped, long necked, open of rib and a particularly nice mammary," he said.
"Her correctness of structure, the youthfulness of her udder, the strength of her attachment and her overall style and balance just gets her to the top of the show today."
Red cow takes intermediate champion
The intermediate champion was a red Holstein, Eclipse Altitude J Princess - Red, exhibited by Robsvue Myponga, SA, and Busybrook Holsteins, Oamaru, New Zealand.
The classy junior two-year-old swept all before it in the intermediate class taking the red intermediate championship and best udder, as well as the overall intermediate championship and best udder.
Eclipse Altitude J Princess - Red was also named overall red Holstein champion of the show and reserve interbreed intermediate champion.
None of the owners was able to attend the event with work commitments keeping the SA connection away and COVID restrictions preventing the NZ contingent from attending.
One of the owners Rob Walmsley, Robsvue, Myponga, said the partners had picked up the champion sight unseen at the dispersal sale of master breeder Richard Hull's Eclipse Holsteins at Jancourt East in June.
The heifer was sold due to sexed Mirand-PP for $9000.
"We liked her pedigree and thought she could turn into something but never imagined she'd turn out that good that quick," Mr Walmsley said.
"We are pretty blown away."
Mr Walmsley said despite not being able to attend it had been a real buzz to watch the event's livestream and be a part of the win.
"You always go to IDW with dreams and ambitions and it doesn't always come off but sometimes it does," he said.
He also praised the efforts of Mal Nikora and Kelly Bleijendaal, who prepared the animal for the show.
"We took her across to Gippsland just before Christmas ... and they got her ready," he said.
Mr Walmsley wasn't sure yet what was next for Eclipse Altitude J Princess - Red, which calved in November.
They might carry the young cow through to the Victorian Winter Fair or might look to flush it.
"It would be good to get some embryos back to our partners in New Zealand," he said.
Judge Murray Sowter said he was impressed by the overall correctness of the heifer.
"This junior two-year-old is an outstanding heifer," he said.
"She's a beautifully balanced heifer, an unbelievable correct set of feet and legs, and has the ability to walk around her udder.
"She got such a beautiful top and extension of neck and the height of the rear udder."
Junior championship reward for show specialists
The junior Holstein champion Lightning Ridge Thunderstorm Nico was exhibited by a young couple who show cows as a hobby.
Kelly Bleijendaal and Mal Nikora, Longwarry, Vic, who own the heifer with Busybrook Holsteins, NZ, both work in the dairy industry but are not dairy farming.
Ms Bleijendaal is a calf rearer while Mr Nikora works for genetics company STG Australia.
The pair have been involved in showing for more than 10 years and have taken three strings of animals to IDW as a couple.
The raise their small herd of 15 show animals on the farm on which Ms Bleijendaal works.
Ms Bleijendaal said the championship win was unexpected but was a great reward for the work they put in to preparing their animals.
The picked up the champion calf at the Lightning Ridge Genetics sale in December for $8000, after having previously worked with and being impressed by its dam.
"We liked the family," Ms Bleijendaal said.
"She has six generations of excellent behind her and she's just a pretty fancy heifer herself so we thought she'd have a bright future."
Judge Murray Sowter said the calf "has a wonderful frame and style and width, so hard on top".