Dairy is one of the great Australian success stories. As the country's third biggest rural industry, dairy is a significant contributor to our national and state economies. It is also fundamental to our regional economies, a major driver of jobs and regional prosperity.
But this is clearly an industry experiencing big challenges.
A situation analysis report produced by partner organisations of the Australian Dairy Plan to support discussion at recent consultation workshops, lays bare the impact of several tough years on the industry.
Market volatility, challenging conditions on farm and structural changes in the supply chain are some of the issues that have taken a toll on where the industry stood a decade ago.
The report also flags many positive factors that point toward a promising future if we can successfully address these current difficulties. It is vital that all sides now pull together to agree on a roadmap of priorities and actions, in order to reset the direction and confidence of the industry.
We not only need to be honest about these issues, but open to making difficult decisions and supporting real change if required.
The simple fact is that too many farmers are struggling to make a profit. There have been huge increases in costs, which have made many farms unprofitable. The pressure on many farmers cannot be overestimated and this is driving the urgency of our work. Unfortunately, there is no short-term magic wand to fix these things and no one person has all the answers.
That's why we need to hear from everyone. There is a wealth of ideas and experience out there, and the Australian Dairy Plan is about listening, gathering, analysing and synthesising those ideas. Together with input from farmers, processors, retailers and other key stakeholders we are creating a roadmap towards a dairy industry that can be more profitable, more confident and more united.
I am delighted to be playing a role in the development of this plan.
The dairy industry has been a regular presence in my life and career right through from my days on the family farm at Coleraine, Vic, when dairy farms and butter factories were a feature of the agricultural landscape to my time in federal and then state parliament.
As Minister for State and Regional Development in the Victorian Government, I helped support projects including cattle underpasses, irrigation upgrades, new investments in processing facilities and major additions to our research and development effort, like AgriBio at La Trobe University.
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My role as Independent Chair of the plan is to bring the partner organisations together, get their thinking lined up into the longer term and to meld this together with the views of farmers and service providers gathered at Australian Dairy Plan regional workshops. The four key dairy industry organisations Dairy Australia, Australian Dairy Farmers, Australian Dairy Products Federation and the Gardiner Dairy Foundation see an immense opportunity for a new single dairy industry strategic plan.
The workshops have been well attended and stimulated constructive debate, as well as a range of proposed solutions.
Challenges to profitability and industry structure are some of the common themes at these meetings.
Changing consumer expectations and product competition has been another consistent topic, along with difficulties in attracting people to the industry and the complexity of farming.
Views from broader industry beyond the farmgate will continue to be gathered over the coming weeks, with further discussion around how to respond to these challenges at a national workshop.
The Australian Dairy Plan report is due to be released later this year and it will inform the strategic plans of the four partner organisations. It is still possible to submit your views online and we encourage anyone who has yet to contribute to do so via www.dairyplan.com.au.
The Australian Dairy Situation Analysis is available to read at https://www.dairyplan.com.au/situation-analysis.
This story first appeared on Australian Dairyfarmer
