Australian Dairy Farmers chief executive officer Stephen Sheridan said leaders from the six dairy producing states met in Melbourne in conjunction with the ADF Board to discuss the future of national dairy representation and significant issues facing the dairy industry.
The state organisations at the meeting were United Dairyfarmers of Victoria, NSW Farmers Dairy Committee, eastAUSmilk, South Australian Dairyfarmers Association, TasFarmers and WAFarmers.
Mr Sheridan said the state representatives agreed to support changes to the ADF constitution that will strengthen the organisation and ensure their ongoing support for ADF as single national representative body.
He said they recognised the need for unity and strength, especially in these times of adversity, and that the states must work together to be successful in tackling the key issues facing their industry.
All the state organisations, in collaboration with ADF, are working on a range of issues from floods in northern NSW to drought in southern states, along with increasing input costs, low opening prices, cheap overseas imports, flat retail pricing and global trade uncertainty.
“Our discussions reached a consensus agreement that we need a strong peak body to act as the single representative voice for dairy farmers,” NSW Farmers Dairy Committee chair and Blighty farmer, Malcolm Holm, said.
“Dairy has to run its own race representing dairy farmers.”
UDV president Bernie Free said it was reassuring that all the states are committed to a united dairy farmers advocacy organisation.
“We need to get on with the business of dealing with the very real issues affecting our dairy farmers today and into the future,” Mr Free said.
ADF president Ben Bennett said discussion centred on how to respond to the pressing issues facing farmers, and the critical importance of unity and collective representation to ensure the dairy industry remains resilient and influential at a national level.
“At a time when ag advocacy is under threat, it was great to see ADF’s state members reaffirm their desire for a single, strong national dairy farmer voice,” Mr Bennett said.
“We all recognise that unity is essential to effectively represent and advocate for the industry and to tackle the very big issues affecting farmers’ livelihoods.”
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