THE dairy industry is confident the Senate inquiry into the impacts of supermarket price decisions will provide better outcomes for farmers.
Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative chairman Ian Zandstra said Coles's move to discount milk to $1 a litre in January prompted many people to think about dairy farmer's farm-gate milk price, including senators.
"The senators this time are seeking, asking the industry for solutions to this problem," Mr Zandstra said.
"Whether it's examples to support an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry, whether it's concepts of a minimum farm-gate price or changes to the Trade Practices Act."
Mr Zandstra gave evidence at the Senate Economics Reference Committee inquiry last week.
He told the inquiry the action of Coles "was meant to do harm" by gaining market share from its competitors and Coles did not have a "pro-farmer culture".
Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative has 780 dairy farmer suppliers and half its 1 billion litre milk intake comes from the southern region, including the Riverina, northern and western Victoria and South Australia.
Earlier this week Mr Zandstra said discounting milk to $1/litre had engaged the entire dairy industry against the "public relations horse-power of Coles".
"The incredible thing is that Australian dairy farmers, with all their diversity in regions and production, are united on this one," he said.
"(It's) because this hurts the value of one of their products by damaging it in the marketplace. There is incredible unity on this one, even if your milk goes into powder for China."
The co-operative hopes to have farmers at the Senate inquiry when Coles gives evidence this Tuesday.
Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation executive officer Adrian Peake said there was a lot more attention paid to this inquiry, by all players in the industry and this would hopefully translate into a better understanding of the implications for the domestic dairy sector.
Outside of the inquiry last week, South Australia independent Senator Nick Xenophon said the milk price war was a "real issue" and it was the responsibility of the Senate and the Government to examine it.
