Waleed Aly certainly earned his Gold Logie this week when he busted open #MilkGate, reminding us that all is not well in the countryside of South Australia. There is real concern being expressed from within the industry that the current prices being offered by dairy producers (those who buy off farmers) are simply unsustainable. Contributing to the squeeze also is producers’ demands that ‘over payments’ for milk be recuperated from farmers, further bringing the price per litre down.
Murray Goulburn and Fonterra last month reduced its farm-gate price from an average of $0.42 cents per litre to $0.37 cents per litre. On top of this the farmers have been told they must repay the company as they have been over paid for the financial year to date. If they don’t repay they can accept a payment of 14 cents per litre for the next two months, explains Myponga-based Fleurieu Milk Company Sales and Marketing Manager Nick Hutchinson.
“These cuts threaten to plunge many farmers into loss-making positions, and this is compounded by the fact that they lower the average price farmers are paid for the entire season,” Mr Hutchinson said.
“In real terms, they will be paid well under the latest Murray Goulburn and Fonterra prices over the remaining two months of the financial year in order to meet those new average prices – in effect, they’re victims to a retrospective reduction in milk prices. It’s unacceptable as it makes it impossible for farmers to survive in this environment and will ruin the dairy industry for future generations.”
The Fleurieu Milk Company says they will continue to support local farmers, by paying them the price they deserve for their milk and playing a role in ensuring the industry is viable for future generations. This is a sentiment echoed on social media, where farmers have taken to explaining direct to consumers how best to support SA dairy farmers, cheese makers and yogurt producers in general. Fleurieu farmer Mandy Pacitti provided this straight forward answer late last week:
“Please buy a brand of dairy product over a “private” label or “generic” brand. If you truly want to help SA farmers then buy the brands like Fleurieu Milk, Jersey Fresh, Alexandrina Cheese Co, BD Paris Creek Farms, Tweedvale, Woodside Cheese, Udder Delights etc. The other option is to buy Parmalat, Pura, Sungold, Devondale. The milk etc is from SA farmers but the profit ultimately will go off shore to the parent company. Foodland and IGA are more user friendly but the likes of Coles and Woolies are your next alternative, other than purchasing from your local green grocer who generally is locally owned. Hope this has helped.”
What has been most interesting in watching this issue unfold is the jostling of experts when at the end of the day, we should probably all be asking suppliers how we can help. And once we are armed with answer, South Australian’s have a chance to show their support where they can.
So grab your next coffee from someone who is not using your standard supermarket milk and when it comes to cheese, while Woodside Cheese Wrights hold a very special place in our heart, just look for any local producer. Their cheese always tastes better anyway.
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