IT costs a dairy farmer 45 cents to produce one litre of milk. The same farmer is then paid 50 cents per litre of milk. The profit to the producer is a paltry 5 cents per litre.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It hardly seems fair and with price cuts scheduled for the end of June it is predicted it will soon cost farmers money to sell milk.
Third generation dairy farmer Peter Daley has a family farm west of Wauchope. His grandparents moved there in the 1930s after his great-great-great grandfather came out from Ireland in the 1800s to dairy farm.
Mr Daley believes those in Comboyne, Macleay and the Manning areas will be most affected.
“Their suppliers haven’t told them what the prices will be on July 1 but the expectation is that they will be coming back substantially to around 35 cents per litre,” he said.
“When you have a lot of debt to still service and being totally reliant on seasons it is going to be tough.”
The call is still on to buy local milk. It will make a difference and Daley believes currently it is the only way.
“The dollar-per-litre milk that we have faced from the major supermarkets has kept a cap on the prices that farmers are receiving,” he said.
“The campaign to buy local milk is working. In the long run it will help farmers.
“If the momentum keeps going the supermarkets will have to stock more branded milk that is priced fairly, which will have a flow on effect back to the farmers.
“The more branded milk people buy the better for local farmers and for the local economy.”
With such strong history in the trade it is no wonder the current crisis cuts Mr Daley deep.
When deregulation came into effect in 2000 the Daley family distanced themselves from it all.
“I’ve maintained a passionate link to the industry ever since working as a service provider for different companies,” he said.
“The key issue I see with the industry currently is a lot of the social media activity over what has happened in Victoria.
“People are concerned that there will be a flow on effect here in NSW. My concern is that it will have a flow on effect to our community.”
Mr Daley believes that with price cuts imminent farmers in the Hastings area will stop injecting their money into the local community.
“If our farmers aren’t making money then they don’t spend money locally on their new car, their new tractor, improving their property, their fencing and so forth,” he said.
“That affects our local car dealerships, machine dealership, our farm stores and other shops in the local community.”
While Wauchope and the Hastings is insulated to some degree thanks to the strong economic industries on the coast, Mr Daley still believes it is an issue.
His family owns dairy cows which are milked by other farmers, but the cost of setting up production on the family farm is too great.
“There is just no way to justify the money it would take to set it up based on what we would get back in return,” he said.
“While there are many variables that can alter this, the average local dairy farm produces 1,000,000 litres of milk per year.
“The 5 cent margin the farmers make equate to a profit of $50,000 a year. You then have to service a $1 million-plus loan.”
Matt Attard
I was raised in Port Macquarie and consider myself a true Port local. I'm a die-hard rugby league fan and don't mind taking a photo or two. I'd love to hear from you, so please contact me at any time.
I was raised in Port Macquarie and consider myself a true Port local. I'm a die-hard rugby league fan and don't mind taking a photo or two. I'd love to hear from you, so please contact me at any time.
