Jamie Vogels nominated for Corangamite Shire Council in 2020 because he wanted to have a farmer’s voice at the council table.
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Little did he know how important that input was going to be.
Jamie farms with his brother Andrew at Scott’s Creek, and in 2023 was on the front foot highlighting the impacts of timber plantations in the prime dairying region.
In 2025, he’s pushing for greater support for drought-afflicted farmers and to fight increased government tax burdens.
While there are now four councillors with farming connections, Jamie said you could never do too much to highlight the importance of agriculture in Corangamite Shire, Australia’s richest milk-producing local government area.
An electrician by trade, third-generation farmer Jamie has been home on the farm for 30 years, but he’s never experienced anything like this season.
He and Andrew and four staff manage more than 600 hectares and were milking 750 cows before the drought.
“This year we’ve destocked about 100 cows because we’re worried about water and the high cost of feed and the relatively low price of milk,” Jamie said.
Not only have they had to cut numbers, they’ve spent an extra $500,000 on imported feed.
“The previous two years we probably had 1000 rolls of silage left over each year as a buffer,” Jamie said.
“Last year through the drought, we fed all that and bought two loads of feed — which was the first time we’d had to buy hay for a long time. This year we’ve spent an extra half a million on feed.”
As well-established farmers, they can borrow on equity, but that has long-term implications.
“You try to build up your equity for the big-ticket items,” Jamie said.
“Our dairy is 32 years old, but we’ll have to push a new one down the track a bit further.
“The drought is increasingly taxing and the government is taxing increasingly,” he said.
“That is one of our biggest issues because we came into this year below cost of production and then we have extra taxes on top of that.
“You pull back on maintenance and infrastructure; you just try to survive.
“It’s thrown the industry into massive turmoil because we don’t have the capacity to cope, because, in a great part of the government increasing taxes and levies are driving input costs to record highs.
“Every tax and levy that goes on anyone in the community, you either suck it up or pass it on. It means we have to pay more for services and supplies.
“Energy costs have gone up again, also driving up direct input cost, but we have to compete on the world market.
“Big commercial businesses need to take a good hard look at themselves as they are already getting their cheese from New Zealand and America.
“Most people will buy Australian if they can, but if it’s tough and an import is cheaper, for some they may have no other choice.
“We’re not living the dream driving around in Mercedes here. We’re just trying to create food and get enough money to keep up with technology, which I’m way behind on, and comply with increasing regulations.”
Jamie mixes his farm and shire work.
“I’m still here on the farm every day,” he said.
“If we’ve got a council meeting, I’ll feed the cows and calves in the morning before heading off and leaving it to the staff. Those days I probably put in four or five hours, as opposed to the usual 12.”
He said the current challenges were not anything new for farmers.
“Ever since I’ve been on the farm, there has been a lot of pressure,” he said.
“You have a few good years and try to catch up with infrastructure upgrades, technology and maintenance, and then you have another setback.
“I think it’s important to remind people that around here agriculture is king and provides the base for the economy.
“My natural state is to stay out of the limelight, but there are times you need to step up.
“Everyone is suffering through this and I’m here to represent my community.”
This year Corangamite Shire has allocated $500,000 to drought support and Jamie said if state and federal governments committed the same percentage of their budgets to drought support, the pressures would be eased.
The shire started pushing for more drought support in August 2024 and has been advocating for a water strategy for many years.
“They’ve come out with a relief package, but it’s definitely reactive – the horse has bolted.
“If we get another year of drought, the bank might come a knocking on a lot of people.”
A push to develop more timber plantations in Corangamite remains a big issue, with a processing company willing to spend $200 million to purchase land in south-west Victoria, targeting the former Heytesbury Settlement region.
“That would get them about 10,000 hectares, and my understanding is that they’re 3500ha into that,” Jamie said.
“You can see a massive difference in the area just from that.
“Agriculture contributes 100 times more than forestry to the shire economy including 45 per cent of the economic output, 38 per cent of the jobs and 70 per cent of the exports.
“Our towns and communities rely heavily on farming with most of the 2400 plus jobs and $60 million in wages annually coming from dairy, meat production, sheep and cropping and agricultural services.
“Dairy turns over $6000 a hectare per year and has a multiplier effect for the economy.
“You take that out of the economy and probably one job every 100ha and you lose families, volunteers.”
While he said the shire was hamstrung because it’s approved federally through the Foreign Review Investment Board, it wants to highlight the importance of protecting prime agricultural land.
“We’ve asked for a planning review with a proposal to require a planning permit for land change for the trees, but that’s still sitting on the minister’s desk. It will be a long drawn-out process.”
Jamie said despite the frustrations, he still loved farming.
“You couldn’t do it if you didn’t enjoy it.”
DNA writer