Australian Government supports dairy industry with $1.5m in grants

The Australian Government will deliver grants totalling $1.51 million to Australian Dairy Farmers and Dairy Australia, to support a more transparent and accountable dairy sector.

“The grant to Australian Dairy Farmers of $1.01 million will be used for projects to support a more transparent and accountable dairy sector. The grant will develop a standard contract that will fit with the industry’s mandatory code of conduct, making it easier for farmers to deal with processors,” said Senator Bridget McKenzie, Minister for Agriculture.

The grant will explore the design, development and market testing for a new milk pricing and trading platform, which may give dairy farmers more selling options. The grant will also explore the development of a payment system using blockchain technology to enable transparent and secure payments to dairy farmers by processors.

“We’re currently consulting on what a milk marketing and trading platform might look like as part of the development of the mandatory dairy code of conduct. Dairy Australia will also develop business tools to help farmers better understand their production costs and milk prices in their region. This will give them more information for when they enter into contract and payment arrangements, to make sure those arrangements best suit their business,” said Senator McKenzie.

The $500,000 grant for Dairy Australia will help dairy farmers through the development and rollout of practical materials to build financial and legal literacy and risk planning.

“These grants combined with the development of the dairy code of conduct are part of the Liberal and Nationals Government’s $22 million worth of commitments designed to ensure a viable and prosperous dairy sector,” Senator McKenzie said.

The government is offering dairy farmers a range of measures including $10 million in grants to help them upgrade or invest in energy-efficient equipment to reduce energy costs, $8.1 million for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Agriculture Unit to establish a dairy specialist position and $3 million to support farmers set up cooperatives and other collective business models.

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