22 March 2024
Almost 100 representatives from Australia’s dairy industry gathered in Melbourne on 22 March 2024 for a National Dairy Symposium hosted by the Australian Government. The symposium brought together industry groups, dairy producers, dairy processors, employee representatives and government to take the pulse of the industry.
The symposium explored the themes of Productivity, competition and growth, Sustainability and climate action, and Positioning dairy as a product of choice through panel discussion with delegates. The symposium acknowledged both the challenges to profitable growth and the opportunities ahead for the dairy industry, highlighting the industry’s position at the forefront of sustainability and noting that dairy is well-placed to capitalise on this leadership. Delegates acknowledged the need to collaborate across all parts of the supply chain, and the willingness within the industry to work collaboratively to address the challenges and build on the opportunities.
Productivity, Competition and Growth
This discussion highlighted the need for the industry to collaborate and innovate, with discussion centring around the need for further technological innovation and uptake for our extensive farming systems. There was agreement that industry needs to look at productivity holistically, with acknowledgement that it is also important to focus on innovative ways to improve profitability and competitiveness.
Sustainability and Climate Action
There was an emphasis on how much the dairy industry has already achieved in relation to sustainability and climate action, highlighting that as a result of these proactive steps it is well positioned. The need for harmonisation of data was raised, with acknowledgment that it is time-consuming and difficult for farmers to collate multiple data sets to satisfy different requirements from, for example, banks, retailers or importing countries. There was also discussion around who should bear the risk of implementing new technology, with the observation that it should be shared between farmers and processors.
Positioning Dairy as a Product of Choice
The importance of dairy to the consumer was emphasised in this session, with the informative presentation highlighting the difference in market share between dairy and alternatives, with demand for dairy continuing to be strong. The subsequent discussion highlighted the need for industry to promote itself to further communicate both its achievements in sustainability as well as dairy’s nutritional value.
Outcomes
Following the discussion on Productivity, competition and growth, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator the Hon Murray Watt, announced that the government will provide funding to Dairy Australia to support industry workshops on improving industry productivity and competitiveness. Dairy Australia will report back to Minister Watt by the end of the year on the outcome of this work.
Minister Watt also announced at the symposium that consultation for the second review of the Dairy Code of Conduct will begin in September 2024. The Minister acknowledged that the Code has changed the way the industry works, but that it’s time for another look to make sure it is continuing to provide strong results for the industry, dependent communities, and Australian consumers. To support this review the department will run workshops to explore whether any adjustments are required to the Code’s price-setting mechanism.
The dairy symposium highlighted the common interest among all attendees in continuing to build the dairy industry and ensure it prospers into the future.