Australian dairy opening prices hit regional small business

Sue Walley has witnessed dairy recessions before — and says when dairy farmers aren’t doing well, the whole community is affected.

When dairy dollars are flowing, small town cash registers are glowing, Sue Walley says.

But when farming families have little purchasing power, the economic feeling across the community is sour.

A member of the Kyabram Chamber of Commerce, Mrs Walley has witnessed the flow-on effects of dairy price rises and falls over four decades.

This season, farmers are set to have $200,000 to $300,000 wiped from their milk cheques and its dairy towns like Kyabram, Maffra and Cobden that are set to be feel the flow-on effects.

“You start to see it immediately. When dairy farmers aren’t doing well, the whole community is hit,” Mrs Walley said.

Kyabram business owners: Charlotte Bradshaw of Water Partners, Sue Walley of Fab Flowers Florist & Nursery and Mustii Hassani of Kyabram Kebabs. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

“Kyabram isn’t as reliant on dairy as it used to be — the hospital and the Kyabram Club are also big employers. But if farmers aren’t spending in town, that means someone else isn’t spending and then the next person — it’s a domino effect.”

Opening prices announced by most dairy processors at the start of June have stubbornly stayed around $7.80 to $8.30 per kilo milk solids, with only a few outside that range.

Mrs Walley operates Fab Flowers Florist and Nursery in Kyabram’s main street but previously worked in the farm machinery sector alongside her husband.

“We’re talking 30 to 35 years ago and we sold large vats for dairies — in a bad year, you’d see sales drop overnight. It takes a bit more time to feel the impact as a florist but you do notice that people are less confident about spending. So we do hope dairy prices improve, for the farmers and for the wider community.”