DAIRY Australia has failed grassroots farmers, writes DOUG CHANT and others

The debate raised as a result of the forthcoming levy poll has highlighted a massive division between dairy farmers and Dairy Australia.

It is our opinion that Dairy Australia has not been listening to grassroots farmers.

What has also become very clear is that many farmers have had enough of Dairy Australia.

Talking to farmers across Victoria over the past few days, it has become apparent that dairy farmers no longer support the direction of Dairy Australia and want to see a total review.

Ours is an industry built on people. Decisions on management, on feeding, on breeding, on reducing debt, are all made by us, people.

We are the people who work seven days a week to feed the nation.

In the 1990s, we had almost 15,000 farming families, today we have about 7000. During this period milk production dropped from 11 billion litres to nine billion litres.

Of those 7000 farmers left, how many are about to retire in the next five to 10 years?

There are very few young people coming through the ranks to take their place due to the increasing workloads and poor returns compared with other job opportunities.

We have no opposition to research and development, but it must generate a return that is profitable to the farmer.

The quality of research being carried out is failing the industry. It is not a matter of more money, it's about more appropriate use of the levy money.

The future viability of the dairy industry should be ringing alarm bells in Canberra.

If farmers vote 'No' to the proposed increases to the levy, then we will be looking to the minister to have a complete review of the industry's representation. Because not only will Dairy Australia have failed, but our representative bodies will have shown that they have also failed to consult with grassroots farmers on their needs.

As farmers we have the opportunity to make this a referendum on the performance of Dairy Australia.

We are the people who take all the risk. When times are tight we are the ones who are told to become more efficient.

Dairy Australia has had its opportunity to be more efficient.

The lack of transparency in the way the board is elected and the closed-shop approach to policy, the failure to keep government informed as to the pressures farmers have been under, and the failure to encourage greater efficiencies through the supply chain in order to improve the farmgate price, has caused many of the farmers to say they are voting 'No'.

We are the people who will decide the fate of Dairy Australia.

Five years ago, two-thirds of all dairy farmers failed to have their say about the milk levy because they didn't vote.

With Dairy Australia pushing to increase the price of the levy, it is imperative that every eligible dairy farmer votes.

Vote with your conscience, but make sure you vote. The Government provided farmers with a 'No' vote option when Dairy Australia was established.

The 'No' vote - put there by government as a safeguard for farmers - is the necessary first step that will ensure the minister has no option but to restructure Dairy Australia.

Voting 'No' should not be the end, but a new beginning.

  • Doug Chant, Michael Spitse, Ed Conheady, John McConnell and Kevin Ashworth are dairy farmers from southwest Victoria