As Hunter dairy farmers brace for a pay cut a Luskintyre man – who created his own milk brand – is urging them to start their own cooperative.
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Glenn Haines says creating a Hunter Valley cooperative, where farmers would share in the profits and have a say in the operations, is the only way to avoid milk processing companies dictating the farm-gate price.
He created the Udder Farm milk brand in 2010, after more than 40 years in the industry, and has a processing plant on his farm.
He said a Hunter-owned cooperative would give farmers more control over their future in the industry and they could earn 70 cents a litre for their milk.
The move would allow farmers to stop selling their milk to other processing companies, which are expected to drop the price from July.
“This could be the light at the end of the tunnel, all of the farmers would be able to invest in the future of their farm,” he said.
“We’d focus on the local market and sell our milk to people who have a conscience to pay more.”
Mr Haines, 64, milks 42 jersey cows twice a day and can’t keep up with the demand for his products. He makes fresh milk, flavoured milk, fudge, cheese and yoghurt and sells it to local businesses.
He wants to be involved in the new cooperative, if Hunter farmers support his call, and said the amount of milk available would make it a market leader in the region.
The products would be distributed to local businesses.
Mr Haines said the low interest loans announced by the federal government this week would only put farmers in more debt.
His call to arms comes after Murray Goulburn – the country’s largest milk processor – announced it had a $165 million debt, due to a huge drop in its profit forecast, and would slash the price it paid more than 2600 farmers across four states.
The news has seen the company’s shares drop 20 per cent, leaving its farmers with a double financial blow.
Other milk processing companies are now following Murray Goulburn's lead and while Hunter dairy farmers won’t know their fate until the end of June, it is predicted the price will drop.
Mr Haines joined the industry when he was 16, at a time when every farm was a dairy farm and a farmer could produce two cans of milk and a can of cream every day and afford to raise two kids and buy a new car every five years.
Fast-forward almost 50 years and Mr Haines has battled through the low milk prices of the early 2000s – after the industry was deregulated – and branched off to start his own milk brand.
