South Gippsland dairy farmer Tristan Zuidema said the government had “gone missing” since milk prices were dramatically slashed three weeks ago.
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‘They’ve only started coming out now because the public’s started putting them under extreme pressure, ‘ Mr Zuidema told AAP on Friday.
Recent cuts to the farmgate milk price by Murray Goulburn and Fonterra have sent dairy farmers reeling.
“A lot of dairy farmers have not seen one single field officer since the announcement”, he said.
‘Is it that hard to just come out, check up on the farmers, have a cup of coffee and just say ‘how are you doing?’?’ At the time, Woolworths was quick to follow suit.
Owner of Maleny Dairy Ross Hopper told Brisbane Live the big supermarkets weren’t to blame for the current milk crisis, that responsibility lies with the milk processors.
Anxious about the future of her own farm, which is run by her “hard working” dad in Boorcan, west of Warrnambool, the 16-year-old launched her petition on Change.org to call on Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce to assist in providing a better pricing system for farmers.
“What we are doing is drive (sic) every cent of money which we can out of Australia back to New Zealand shareholders in this extremely low milk price environment”, Spierings said.
“It seems a bit cynical to me”, Mr Roderick said.
FEDERAL Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce is continuing to shape an assistance package with targeted measures, to support embattled dairyfarmers hit by the unexpected late season downgrades on farm gate prices.
It estimated that Murray Goulburn’s decision to slash the price it pays farmers for milk will threaten 110 dairy industry jobs and a further 143 in sectors including retail, transport and manufacturing.
Murray Goulburn takes milk from the overwhelming majority of them.
“When the price does go up in Victoria again, and it will, that milk will become expensive to bring into this region once more. But they have now reduced it to 14 cents a litre”, she said.
“They (dairy farmers) deserve to make a decent living and a fair return on their investment”.
“I mean, you’re losing money every time you go milking”, she added.
She says she has been inundated with media requests from around the country and overseas and has been heartened by the many messages of support for dairy farmers.
He said the industry was becoming unsustainable and driving farmers to sell.
“We trade right throughout Victoria and south-east Australia so it does have a significant impact, and we as a board and the business is very aware of that”.
Fonterra – which announced a price cut in early May – is supplied by some local farmers.
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A former dairy farmer running as a Nick Xenophon Team candidate is at odds with the party’s leader on how to deal with plummeting milk prices.
