Path for dairy in South Australian launched as action plan released

The South Australian Dairy Industry Action Plan 2024-2029 was launched on April 23 by Premier Peter Malinauskas at Mount Compass, after the state government fronted up $80,000 to help deliver the plan.

It outlined SA's drive to grow milk production to 700 million litres to meet increased consumption, widen market access to Asian nations and develop a world-class traceability system.

Industry hoped to continue with its inaugural action plan from 2019-2024, to bolster an environment for investment and technology.

SA Dairyfarmers' Association president Robert Brokenshire appreciated the relationship with government to develop industry further to reach important targets.

He said continued support from government had helped to improve dairy farmers' confidence.

"A recent survey about on-farm technology and capital infrastructure spending showed at present, $108-million is being spent on SA dairy farms to upgrade technology and infrastructure," he said.

"This is probably unprecedented."

Collaboration between government and leading industry bodies had contributed to strength for the sector and in the regions, according to Mr Brokenshire.

"It is an exciting day for dairy. There are cycles but the long-term future for the industry looks very strong," he said.

There are some headwinds for the industry but despite this, Mr Brokenshire believed the goals set in the action plan would be achieved.

"We can increase from 500 million litres to 700 million litres and part of this means strengthening partnerships with government and industry bodies to ensure we do not make the same mistakes as New Zealand, Ireland, Canada and United Kingdom," he said.

"They have shrunk their dairy industry because of knee-jerk reactions to industry pressures such as greenhouse gas emissions."

According to Mr Brokenshire, dairy farmers were leading the way in this space and on-track to meet industry targets by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The 2019-2024 plan was adopted by the industry and became a touch stone for representative organisations to help spur SA towards industry investment and build support.

Premier Peter Malinauskas officially launched the action plan and believed the Brokenshire family's recent large-scale investment into its dairy, was a powerful reminder of SA's strong path ahead.

"SA's achievements have been underpinned by the intergenerational cycle of improving the prosperity of the state for the benefit of people," he said.

Mr Malinauskas said with much of the uplift in the state's productivity originating from the lounge rooms of small businesses and family enterprises, it was imperative these people were provided opportunities to grow.

"They use all of their ingenuity and their proximity to the coalface of every decision being made to produce great productive outcomes and there is no better example of that, which has been consistently applied throughout the state's history, than in the agriculture sector," he said.

"The dairy industry represents the cutting edge of that."

This positive story for the industry was also highlighted by Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven.

"It is important industry can see a strong trajectory going forward," she said.

"The investment we are seeing into the industry is very positive."

She believed as exports continued to rise, it was important to promote SA dairy as a premium product, in terms of its sustainability, safety and taste.

"We are very committed to working in partnership with industry," she said.

"The dairy industry continues to be a real strength within our economy, it has more than a $700m contribution each year."