THERE was a lot of love in the room at last week's Murray Goulburn annual general meeting, despite this year's woeful farmgate milk prices.

 Going, going, gone: Murray Goulburn's outgoing chairman Ian MacAulay says his goodbyes.

Much of it was directed at outgoing chairman Ian MacAulay, who retired after 11 years as the co-operative's chairman and 18 years on its board.

Not once, not twice, but three times, questions from the meeting's floor were not so much "questions" - but praise for Mr MacAulay's leadership.

Each heartfelt thank you from individual suppliers was greeted with thunderous applause from the Murray Goulburn faithful.

Mr MacAulay has guided Murray Goulburn through some turbulent times during his chairmanship.

He was there through deregulation, through the formation of Dairy Australia and the ensuing levy issues, through unsuccessful discussions with the Dairy Farmers co-operative, Bonlac and Tatura Milk Industries.

Drought has been a constant during his time at the top, and more recently bushfires have taken their toll.

Still, Mr MacAulay singled out this year's price drop as the biggest disappointment during his tenure as chairman.

"The numbers said we had to do it, so it wasn't a difficult decision to make," he said.

"But it was the most devastating thing I've had to do."

Mr MacAulay has always been a co-op man, a strong believer in Murray Goulburn's power to effectively "set the price" for milk, and it was with this sentiment he concluded his final chairman's address.

"Other companies may come and go, but the co-op is here for the long-term success of its farmers," he said. "Murray Goulburn has given the industry room to grow."

New chairman Grant Davies said Mr MacAulay's contribution to the co-operative had made him "one of Australian agriculture's outstanding leaders".

"Under Ian's leadership, Murray Goulburn has grown to become one of Australia's great rural organisations, the biggest exporter of processed food from Australia and one of the biggest contributors to the rural economy of south-eastern Australia," Mr Davies said.

After the meeting, Mr MacAulay was besieged by cheery suppliers offering handshakes, slaps on the back and best wishes for the future.

He admitted to being surprised by some of the praise.

"In the past couple of weeks, I've heard adjectives used to describe myself that I've never heard before, and that I don't think my family would use," Mr MacAulay said.

"But farmers are great people and I've had a great time interacting with them in my 11 years as chairman."