THE successful social media group Daughters of Dairy Farmers have launched a campaign, Meet Your Farmer, to encourage consumers to buy branded milk.
Founders Rachel Rohan, Lisa Harrison and Jo Mollinger have created online profiles of Scenic Rim farmers for their project to put a face to the name.
The trio released the first profile in its series – featuring Ms Rohan’s father – on their social media accounts which gained more than 6000 views on Facebook.
The Meet Your Farmer story includes a photo of Peter Rohan and his wife holding a bottle of the milk they supply their milk to, a description of their typical farming day and a fast four questionnaire.
Ms Harrison said it was time for consumers to know their local farmers.
“There’s a face behind that bottle,” she said.
“There is someone who has gotten out of bed at three in the morning to milk those cows and make sure you have milk in your coffee.”
Ms Rohan said the social media trail has grown with the success of the campaign’s launch.
“We are creating conversations about our dairy farmers and putting them in the spotlight and the response we’ve received is phenomenal,” she said.
“We’ve had so many comments of support and people have been sharing their own stories about farm with us.”
Ms Rohan said the trio would continue to help improve the connection between primary producers and consumers.
“Daughters of Dairy Farmers work because we are part of two both worlds and our hearts are constantly in it,” she said.
“We know the struggles of dairy farmers and what goes on in farms but we also see what is happening beyond that so we are perfectly placed in the middle.”
Ms Rohan said once the first series of profiles was complete, the group hoped to expand and write farmers’ stories who live beyond Scenic Rim.
Daughters of Dairy Farmers is set to release a Meet Your Farmer profile every fortnight with the second story being published this weekend.
Farmer’s hardship
Ms Harrison said the biggest feedback the trio have received from farmers was their hardship in the industry, especially having to compete with $1/L milk.
“There are ups and downs in every business but in the last 6 years, the industry has only had downs and that’s because of the milk prices,” she said.
“How can a whole industry at every level be losing money and no one can see a problem with it?”
“There comes a point when farmers have to ask themselves, ‘how long I can keep doing this?’”
Ms Harrison said Daughters of Dairy Farmers would continue educating the public on these topics and would support the farmers by promoting branded milk products.
“By creating Meet Your Farmer, we are leaving the choice to the consumer to pick branded milk and to support their farmer,” she said.
“We encourage any brand that doesn’t have a supermarket brand on the bottle because we believe milk shouldn’t be sold cheaper than water.”
Peter Rohan’s fast four Q&A
What do you love most about being a dairy farmer?
I love growing pastures for fat healthy productive cows. I love the mountain landscapes, the river, the birds and the wildlife. I also love the sunrises and sunsets that I get to witness daily.
What’s the hardest part about being a dairy farmer?
Paying the bills, keeping up with the work and trying to organise any kind of time away.
If you get any spare time what’s the one thing you like to do?
Spare time is limited so when we can manage and afford to be away from the farm for a couple of days we like to explore South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales.
What’s the one thing you want the consumers to know?
That dairy farming in Queensland is a lot harder than anyone can imagine. Most couldn't or wouldn't do what we do. The current milk price severely limits our ability to reinvest and has a major impact on how well we can run our business.