Vote your own way in Dairy Poll 2022

AUSTRALIAN Dairy Farmers (ADF) urges all levy payers to vote in Dairy Poll 2022 as this is an opportunity too good to miss, ADF president Rick Gladigau has announced today.

“This is the first time in a decade that dairy farmers have had a say about how much dairy services levy they pay - a levy that funds Dairy Australia's programs, including research and innovation,” says Mr Gladigau.

“Although dairy farmers are experiencing improved trading conditions, there are continued pressures including rising input costs. Also, farmers alone have shouldered the levy for too long.

“We also strongly believe that dairy processors should contribute their fair share to these investments. Processors must provide significant and proportionate funding to those projects that benefit the whole supply chain.”

Since 2019, the ADF has been calling on processors to contribute to the post-farmgate work done by Dairy Australia, with the most appropriate and fairest mechanism being a statutory levy. Furthermore, there are other avenues that can be explored to augment producer levy funds and invest in Dairy Australia's work, including but not limited to grant funding.

For these reasons, the ADF Board does not support an increase in the farmer service levy. “Now is not the right time to raise the levy on farmers, considering that we are emerging from an extended downturn,” says Mr Gladigau.

The ADF Board notes that the ADF National Council, comprising representatives from State Dairy Farmer Organisations (SDFOs) collectively, supports a 20 per cent increase. However, there are a wide range of views among the state and federated members, with differences across states.

“The ADF Board fully respects this diverse range of views. In fact, they helped inform our position,” Mr Gladigau says. “If levy payers seek further information regarding which voting option is best for them, they can also seek guidance from their respective SDFO.”

Mr Gladigau says the ADF Board agrees that the four areas identified as the focus for future levy investment - labour, policy development, regional services and climate change - are relevant and, of course, labour is a critical issue for the dairy industry currently.

“No matter what the outcome of Dairy Poll 2022, the ADF will monitor how the levy is put to work,” says Mr Gladigau.

Based on the voting options on the ballot paper, farmers can consider whether the current dairy levy, or an increase in the levy, is needed to ensure this investment in profitability and sustainability meets their needs.

The Levy Poll Advisory Committee (LPAC) has proposed four options in the Dairy Poll:

·                  No change

·                  +15pc

·                  +20pc (this is the option recommended by LPAC)

·                  +25pc

“While the ADF Board acknowledges the work carried out by LPAC, as per the legislation, over the past several months, we believe that now is not the time to increase the producer contribution to Dairy Australia,” Mr Gladigau says.

“We believe the Levy Poll process can and should be improved. As you might expect, much has been learned from the first-ever LPAC process and the ADF will revisit the process with the Minister for Agriculture following Dairy Poll 2022.

“In the meantime, we strongly encourage all dairy farmers to vote in Dairy Poll 2022.”

For voting information, visit the Dairy Poll 2022 website.