Dairy farmer Paul Fielding says industry outlook is strong for Tasmania as mainland falters

Tasmania’s dairy industry set to be a ‘strong player for a long time’ with the state bucking the trend of other Australian states and territories. Our industry’s future outlook >>

Paul Lambert operating an irrigator on his dairy farm. Picture: Simon McGuire.

While the rest of Australia is facing a decrease in dairy prices and production, Tasmania is bucking the trend says an industry leader based in the North-West.

Paul Lambert is a dairy farmer based at Merseylea and the chair of Circular Head Farms.

Mr Lambert said he anticipates there will be an increase in dairy production in Tasmania over the next year or so.

“I think a lot of people have realised that the climate in Tassie and the water availability makes Tasmania an attractive option,” Mr Lambert said.

“There’s a lot of money coming in and a lot of corporates see it as a place where it is sustainable long-term.”

Some of the dairy cows at Paul Lambert's farm at Merseylea. Picture: Simon McGuire.

Mr Lambert said Tasmania had a fantastic infrastructure for dairy farming compared to the rest of Australia.

“The water infrastructure that’s gone in over the last couple of decades with the government plus the climate we have here with high rainfall position us pretty well for dairy,” he said.

“We’ve been gradually building in production and overtaking other states; Queensland, for instance, has gone backwards.

“But there’s still a long way to go. Australia is quite a small producer worldwide, and Tassie is only a small part of that.

“We’re minuscule on the world stage, but as far as domestic produce, I think Tassie’s going to be a strong player for a long time.”

Mr Lambert said there was a robust dairy culture in North-West Tasmania.

“Corporate farms have attracted more young people to the industry, whereas a lot of the smaller farms, the mum and dad ones, have gone because the kids are not interested in taking over them,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of that sort of thing going on over the last decade.

“If you look at Tassie’s stats, we’ve got less farms, but we’re producing more milk, which has been a continuing trend since the 80s.”