Mountain Milk shows the way for dairy co-operatives

High up in Victoria’s northeast, Stuart Crosthwaite and a group of like-minded farmers are reviving the dairy co-operative model.

Once a household name, Murray Goulburn and most other co-operatives are now a fading agrarian memory.

But Stuart Crosthwaite says there’s still life in the model and Mountain Milk Co-operative has the runs on the board to prove it.

Established in 2017 in the wake of the Murray Goulburn clawback, the group is seeking more farms to join its dairy network in northeast Victoria.

“There’s definitely value in the co-operative model and it’s not just about farmgate prices,” Mr Crosthwaite said.

“Information sharing is a key part of our business model. Helping each other out, particularly with the staff shortages at the moment — there are plenty of issues that are easier to solve collectively.”

Stuart Crosthwaite is the chairman of Mountain Milk Cooperative. Picture: Zoe Phillips

Mountain Milk produces a combined 25 million litres per annum and supplies milk to the Milawa Cheese Company as well as Gundowring Ice Cream.

Both brands are proven award-winners and its in no small part due to Mountain Milk’s focus on quality.

The network of six farms consistently enters the top 5 per cent ranking for low cell counts nationwide.

Mr Crosthwaite said the medium-term aim of the co-operative is to establish a retail brand.

“It’s been a bit difficult to achieve in recent years with milk prices so high, but that is a goal we have,” he said.

“We’re looking for new suppliers to join us and raise (our output) from the current 25 million to upwards of 40 million litres.

“The aim is to attract new farms from the valleys (in northeast Victoria) — Upper Murray, Mitta, Kiewa, Ovens and King. People know our part of the world for the quality of its dairy, so that’s something we want to build on.”