ADF v VFF: ‘Should make farmers sick to the stomach’, Germano says

A two-year battle between Australian Dairy Farmers and the Victorian Farmers Federation over allegedly unpaid membership fees will head to court.

A two-year battle between Australian Dairy Farmers and the Victorian Farmers Federation over allegedly unpaid membership fees will head to the Supreme Court in November.

A directions hearing scheduled for Friday was adjourned until November 15 at the request of the ADF to consider the VFF’s defence.

According to a writ lodged in May, the ADF is pursuing the VFF for outstanding membership payments dating back to October 2022, totalling $657,066.

The VFF’s failure to pay the invoices follows the state farming organisation’s letter of resignation from the ADF, which it says was sent in October 2022. However that was a letter of resignation is disputed, with the ADF maintaining formal notice of the VFF’s resignation from the organisation did not come until February this year.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano wants the matter resolved before November.

VFF president Emma Germano said the VFF has paid ADF $750,244 “to avoid more time and money spent on pursuing the matter in court”.

“This situation has dragged on for nearly two years and for the ADF to continue to pursue this matter in court rather than address the issues the VFF has raised should make farmers sick to the stomach,” Ms Germano said.

“The VFF has paid the ADF over and above their financial claim against us. We hope that given the court costs are ultimately stumped up by farmers and are an egregious waste of money, the ADF would recognise our attempt to avoid costly proceedings and discontinue their action.”

Australian Dairy Farmers president Ben Bennett says he’s open to settling the dispute if certain grievances are resolved, including the amount te VFF is liable to pay.

ADF president Ben Bennett said the organisation was open to resolving the matter before November, but wanted membership fees paid up until February, which would see out the 12-month notice period ADF maintains the VFF is liable for.

“We want payment until the notice period, late February, we’re holding onto that. And there are other issues, we’ve been hung to dry out over this. We need a discussion with them about that,” Mr Bennett said.

The VFF first flagged issue with ADF in 2019, when then United Dairy Farmers president Paul Mumford wrote to the board of ADF in May of that year expressing concern that the VFF, and by extension, UDV, was not getting value for money for its significant membership fees, which were seven times higher than other commodity memberships and nearly twice the rate of its National Farmers’ Federation membership.