THE global financial crisis wiped almost $15.8 million off the dairy industry's Gardiner Foundation investments in 2008-09.
The dairy research and extension foundation's annual report, tabled in the Victorian Parliament last week, showed it was the second year the foundation had made substantial losses.
In the past two years, the foundation's investments have slumped from $102.7 million in June 2007, to $70.2 million by June 30 this year.
However, foundation chief executive Paul Ford said the recent recovery in global sharemarkets had pushed the fund's value back up to $84 million.
But while the foundation's investments crashed, its employee costs rose by almost 22 per cent.
The foundation's annual report showed its employee benefits expenses rose from $605,583 in 2007-08 to $735,905 last financial year.
Mr Ford said much of the rise in employment expenses related to the board's decision to bring back work previously outsourced.
The Weekly Times was unable to confirm the level of savings resulting from this strategy, as the financial records include employee costs.
The Gardiner Foundation's trust fund was established by the Victorian Government in 2000 using $62 million that was recovered from the sale of the Victorian Dairy Industry Authority's Big M, Rev, Skinny Milk and Farm House milk brands.
Each year revenue from the fund's investments are used to fund a diverse range of projects from pumping $682,000 into Murray Goulburn Co-operative dairy ingredients research, to buying dishwashers for community groups.
The annual report also showed directors and key managers enjoyed "total compensation" of $411,329 last financial year, compared to $335,207 in 2007-08. Mr Ford said the rise was due to the addition of another manager's salary.
The compensation did not include extra consultancy fees paid to directors.
Foundation chairman Chris Nixon received an extra $20,000 in consultancy fees. Fellow directors Ian MacAulay, Paul Moughan and outgoing director Graham Mitchell each received an extra $10,000.
