Dairy farmers Bridget Goulding, Bernie Free call for stronger farmgate price
Bridget Goulding is leading a United Dairyfarmers of Victoria fight for a better farmgate price next season. Here’s why.
When it comes to the dairy price farmgate next season, Bridget Goulding says eight isn’t great but nine would be fine.
The United Dairyfarmers of Victoria is pushing this month for milk processors both large and small to lock in higher opening prices on June 2, as part of the federal government mandatory dairy code of conduct.
Most processors offered between $7.90 and $8.20 per kilo milk solids at the start of the 2024-25 season, with a smattering of step ups since pushing that figure to between $8.20 to $8.40 — depending on the manufacturer.
A UDV policy councillor, Mrs Goulding operates a dairy farm at Katunga - 45km north of Shepparton.
“Farmers understand that processors need to be profitable — we’ve seen several fail in the past couple of years — but other are making big profits and that success isn’t flowing through to the farmgate,” she said.
“The cost of fodder, the cost of fuel, water, labour — everything and anything to run a dairy farm — has gone up at a faster rate than the milk price this season and farmers are really feeling the financial consequences.
“It feels like the processors are expecting farmers to absorb these costs without adequate pricing is not only unfair, but also unsustainable.
“The current pricing in the low eights (per kilo milk solids) is barely above the cost of production — for some farmers, they are making zero profit or going backwards.
“That’s not a way to keep farmers in dairy and with the drought, many consider their options about staying in the industry.”
UDV president Bernie Free said “processors needed to think how a soft price would damage their own interests as well as farmers.”
“Like any business, many farmers do assess whether they stay in dairy at the end of the financial year. It’s easier to make a cleaner break by June 30,” he said.
“The processors need to weigh up whether they take that risk — if they push more farmers out of dairy, their own financial prospects look pretty grim themselves.”
Processors will report opening prices on June 2 this year as the usual mandatory code date of June 1 falls on a Sunday in 2025.
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