Dairy farmers exit industry in droves, factories close as reliance on imported milk products grows
By Emma Field, Sat 18 May

Cohuna's Jamie Forster says other dairy farmers will soon leave the industry too.

Jamie Forster may have received "exceptionally good" farm gate milk prices over the last three years, but he is still giving up dairy farming.

"It's just the wear and tear. It's seven days a week, and it's quite stressful," he said.

"And you're dealing with the environment, which you can't control."

A man in the middle of dairy cows being milked
Cohuna farmer Jamie Forster says he's getting out of the industry after 37 years. (Landline: Emma Field)

He is not alone.

Around the turn of the century there were 7,409 Victorian dairy businesses. There are now 2,796.

Last year in Victoria, Australia's biggest milk producing state, 8 per cent of its dairy farmers quit the business.

"I've just been doing it for 37 years. My body and my mind has had enough," Mr Forster said.

He said none of his four children wanted to take on the dairy farm at Cohuna in north-east Victoria.

Across the nation, milk production has shrunk to its lowest level in 30 years.

This season milk's production is tipped to be nearly 3 billion litres less than the industry's peak of 11.2 billion litres in the early 2000s.

Conversely, dairy imports like butter and cheese have nearly tripled to 27 per cent over the past 22 years and are rising, according to Dairy Australia.

Millennium drought starts dairy exodus
Mr Forster took over his parents' farm in 2001.

The 12-year millennium drought hit soon after, which he described as "pretty tough".

"We had to work out which bills we were going to pay, especially just starting out as a young fella," Mr Forster said.

A man standing in front of a dairy milking shed
Cohuna farmer Jamie Forster milks alone because of staffing issues and will leave the industry in June. (Landline: Emma Field)

He draws irrigation water from the Murray River and drought conditions often mean low or no water allocations to those with permanent water licences.

With the federal government reviving water buybacks under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, Mr Forster is worried about the next dry spell.

"When the next drought comes, there'll be a lot of farmers leave the industry," he said.

"A lot of older ones are just hanging in there."

Mr Forster said the decline in dairy farming had "definitely taken its toll" on his community, with fewer people working in the industry.

"Our local tennis club have been going for over 100 years, but it finally finished up last year … couldn't keep going," he said.

Dairy crisis sparks change
In Victoria's south-west, United Dairy Farmers of Victoria president Bernie Free was also concerned about the industry's decline.

He said many dairy farmers were still recovering financially from the 2016 crisis when big milk processors retrospectively slashed the farm gate milk price and clawed back money already paid.

A group of people in white t-shirts hold signs supporting the dairy industry.
Farmers rally in 2016 to support the dairy industry. (ABC Brisbane: Matthew Watson)

A mandatory code of conduct for milk processors now required them to offer a minimum price to farmers for the duration of their milk contracts.

Mr Free said farmers were still wary and it was becoming hard to attract the next generation to the industry.

"The young people aren't as keen to come into an industry that's not guaranteed on price," he said.

Jobs go as Echuca dairy factory shuttered
Photo shows a exterior image of a Lactalis factory with the company's logo on the wall and a sign pointing to the entrancea exterior image of a Lactalis factory with the company's logo on the wall and a sign pointing to the entrance
The dairy decline continues as another regional factory is set to close.

"Costs have skyrocketed, land prices have doubled in some areas, so the return on the effort and the investment is just not there."

The Australian Dairy Products Federation, which represents processors, has warned farmers should prepare for a price cut next season because Australia's milk price is 30 per cent higher than global competitors.

But Mr Free said a decent milk price was essential to drive profitability and on-farm investment, which was key to growing milk production.

He said farmers were going to produce less milk if the price dropped.

"If we don't have dairy farms that are profitable, and making a return on the investment, you won't have people investing in the industry," Mr Free said.

A 'significant period of transformation'
Dairy analyst Michael Harvey said farm labour problems, the rising cost of farmland, floods, drought and other international factors, were creating an uncertain future for the industry.

"We're seeing the Australian dairy industry go through a significant period of transformation," he said.

A Lactalis sign
Lactalis' Echuca factory will be closed and merged with another site in Bendigo (Landline: Emma Field)

Mr Harvey said a stable milk pool was essential for the manufacturing sector...

we will eventually import powdered milk products from NZ .
there will be no fresh milk in australia

aquascoot wrote on Sep 6^th, 2024 at 2:51pm:


Beef farms keep small number of dairy cows like jersey to wean beef calf or 3 and get enough fresh milk when needed for family.

It used to be "the way of life" but not many young people want to stay on land any more.

End days for dairy cows in Australia?

Is Australia headed for a $10 litre of milk?

The Chinese came and went. They saw the end coming when the Sinophobes came after them.