FOR more than a decade, milk has been the life-blood of Mead’s Dianne Bowles.
But, as financial pressure looms across the dairy industry, her red blood is boiling amid calls to end the farm gate price uncertainty.
Major dairy processors, Murray Goulburn and Fonterra, have made shock retrospective cuts to farm gate milk prices in the past three weeks as a result of global markets and an increasing Australian dollar.
“Without that certainty and knowing what number you are looking at, it is really hard to know where we will go. At the moment we are just guessing on the back of envelopes,” Ms Bowles said.
Ms Bowles has established a Facebook page called Show Some Dairy Love to share stories and photographs of dairy produce from paddock to plate. So far she has accepted more than 5700 requests from social media users to join the page.
In the past week the MG unit price on the Australian Securities Exchange plummeted to 85 cents, down from its issue price of $2.10 last July, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched an investigation of the price cuts and industries have proposed a major protest in Melbourne next Wednesday.
All the while farmers are now being warned that next season’s price is likely to be lower than the already discounted rate that they are being paid currently of between $4.75 and $5 per kilogram for milk solids.
Murray Goulburn chairman, Philip Tracy said the 2016/17 budget would go to the board meeting at the end of June and that farm gate prices for the coming season would be released at that time.
In a supplier update released on Wednesday, the co-operative said that all directors have agreed to waive their fees for the remainder of this financial year.
Federal Agriculture Minister, Barnaby Joyce pledged to establish assistance packages while visiting farmers in northern Victoria this week.
He told farmers that he wants to make drought low-interest loans available and provide more rural financial counsellors.
Ms Bowles said she didn’t believe Mr Joyce understood the extent of farmers’ plight.
“It was good that he came to the region, but I don’t think he fully understands the extent of how people are feeling, but people are also forgetting that he is in election mode, so he can’t announce much,” she said.
Ms Bowles personally met with Mr Joyce and told him access to the household income support needed to be more efficient, funding needed to be restored to Rural Financial Counselling Service Victoria and that the crisis had exposed a lack of business planning by some farmers.
“This is unprecedented. I think farmers would have coped if it were just for the next two months, but it is the retrospective debt, on top of low rainfall, prospect of low water allocations and an irrigation modernisation project over our head,” she said.
Supermarket giant, Coles has announced that it will launch a new milk brand in three months’ time, that will deliver an extra 20 cents per litre of milk sold into an independent dairy industry fund.
Although supported by the Victorian Farmers Federation, Ms Bowles is concerned the move is a token gesture and marketing stunt.
“What we have seen is photos on social media of supermarket fridges sold out of branded milk and cartons and cartons left of cheap milk,” she said.
“The supermarkets are not silly. They are giving consumers another choice. You have to apply to Coles to receive that fund money. It is not going to go to the farmers.”
Speaking about the Facebook page, Ms Bowles said it was important for all farmers to feel the community valued and supported them as they faced tough times.
“If they’d prefer not to buy the home brand one that’s even better, we make more money on the name brand products,” she said.
“If all you can afford is plain label, buy it, by all means.”
Ms Bowles said MG, which is being sued by a group of investors, must tell suppliers and investors just how bad the situation is to stop prolonging the situation.
“We have just employed an awesome new worker who we don’t want to see go and we recently purchased the neighbours’ property and hoping to re-fence; most of which won’t happen now,” she said.
Ms Bowles was optimistic about the future of the industry and was encouraged by youthful voices being heard.
“The future is hard to see at the moment, but assistance is there,” she said.
“The industry must be united.”
Connect to the Facebook page by typing ‘Show Some #dairylove’ into the search bar.
