Dairy farmgate: Norco provides Christmas bonus to suppliers

For dairy farmers, Christmas is just another milking day. But Norco suppliers have received some surprise festive cheer this year.

Unlike many other yuletide workers, Christmas is just another day on the calendar for dairy farmers.

Annual leave days and penalty rates — let alone December bonuses — are a foreign concept in the milking pit. Until now.

Norco has provided some Christmas cheer at the farmgate with a Noël novelty for the sector — a 15 cents per litre bonus for suppliers on December 25.

The chief executive of the NSW-based co-operative, Michael Hampson, said the bonus was in recognition that dairy farmers worked hard day-in, day-out throughout the calendar year.

Mr Hampson said the one-day bonus was on top of Norco’s farmgate milk price increase of an additional 1.1 cents per litre earlier this year.

The average price paid to Norco suppliers is 88 cents per litre, one of the highest farmgate milk prices ever received in Australia.

“Valuing the work that they do while enjoying our festivities, our farmers are out there doing their hard to work to provide us with the best quality milk,” he said.

Lismore region farmer Andrew Wilson and Norco chief executive Michael Hampson. Picture: Supplied

Northern NSW farmer Andrew Wilson milks 600 cattle at Woodlawn, about 10 kilometres north of Lismore. He has supplied Norco for decades and welcomed the bonus.

“Christmas Day is just another day for us,” Mr Wilson said. “Early start – we try and get the milking out of the way so we can get home, get the presents open for the kids and start enjoying the day.

“It’s great recognition from the co-operative. On Christmas Day, it’s good to be appreciated.”

With the latest increases and bonuses combined, Norco is expected to pay its farmers an additional $25.6 million more than last year

About $5.6 million is driven by the high milk price and $20 million is attributed to increased volume processed by Norco.