Brisbane region farmer Joe Bradley new eastAUSmilk president

After a lengthy journey in dairy advocacy, Queensland farmer Joe Bradley is the new eastAUSmilk president.

On the other side of the world in the Oval Office, one President Joe clinched the top job after a 50-year path to power.

In a rectangular milking pit north of Brisbane, another President Joe has reached the apex of dairy advocacy after a similarly lengthy journey.

Joe Bradley was recently appointed president of eastAUSmilk, a cross-state lobby group representing both NSW and Queensland dairy farmers.

Milking 230 Brown Swiss cattle at Dayboro, 45 kilometres north of Brisbane, Mr Bradley started working for father Bill back in 1972.

No stranger to community representation, he has previously served as a local councillor and president of Brown Swiss Australia.

eastAUSmilk president Joe Bradley. Picture: Josh Woning

So when predecessor Matt Trace recently stepped down as eastAUSmilk president, Mr Bradley was more than qualified to take over the reins.

He told The Weekly Times one of his main objectives for 2024 was keeping the farmgate milk price at a sustainable level for suppliers.

“It annoys me when I see processors and others talking down the farmgate price ahead of the next season. That’s one of the key things as an industry we need to maintain – reasonable returns for dairy farmers,” Mr Bradley said.

“There’s a lot of talk about record farmgate prices. But there’s record input costs too. We have dairy farmers in Queensland leaving the sector, because they’re getting a reasonable price now and see the writing on the wall.

“If the processors cut farmgate prices next season, they will speed up the exodus from the dairy sector. Farmers are leaving now — so if they cut, they’ll be putting the foot on the accelerator of the problem.”

One of Mr Bradley’s predecessors — Gloucester NSW farmer Graham Forbes — called in 2022 for Aldi, Coles and Woolworths to raise the price of generic milk to $2 a litre.

At the time, the big three supermarkets were charging $1.30 a litre — the generic price tag now sits at $1.60 a litre.

Mr Bradley said $2.50 a litre was not unreasonable given the impact of rampant inflation on the sector.

“When Graham (Forbes) said at the time $2 a litre, he was right. Over the past few years, that need to raise the price of generic milk has risen with inflation and you’d have to say now that $2.50 a litre is reasonable,” he said.

“Particularly when you consider people will pay well above that per litre for bottled water or Coca-Cola or lemonade.

“The supermarkets are making record profits. Milk has played a part in those handsome profits. It’s really time for them to drop the cheap milk campaign – it’s done enough damage already to dairy farming.”

The eastAUSmilk president says the challenges of retail and farmgate pricing correlate with the decline in Queensland, and ultimately Australian, dairy farmer numbers.

Back in 1980, the Sunshine State boasted 3052 dairy farms — which halved by the time of the 2000 deregulation.

Today, only 300 dairy farms are registered across the state with Brisbane drinking a mix of home-sourced and NSW milk.

“If the numbers are anything to go by, deregulation wasn’t just bad for Queensland. It was bad for every state,” Mr Bradley said.

“Just look at the figures — we’ve got a national milk pool in free fall from 11 million litres now down to 8 million litres and we’re importing hundreds of tonnes of cheese and butter.

“In my part of the world near Brisbane, there were 64 dairy farmers in the 1980s and by 2000 there were 26 farmers. Now I’m the only one left in the area.

“They’ve either gone into beef or if you’re closer to Brisbane, into subdivisions, and who could blame them? We need government to take the decline of dairy seriously.”

Mr Bradley recently met with Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner to express his concerns but said both government, banking and retail all played a role in the viability of dairy farming.

“Banks do not take into account the special circumstances of farmers and farming,” Mr Bradley said. “I know of several young people that want to make a go in dairy but you need the banks behind you all the way.

“When you state the obvious about dairy, some say you’re ‘talking down dairy’. My response is: ‘the best way to talk up dairy is to up the farmgate price’.”