NATIONAL consultation into the dairy industry’s future hit the South East this week with more than 30 farm, processing and stakeholder representatives sharing their ideas.
The Australian Dairy Plan event held at the Apple Farm highlighted key areas of the sector needing improvement and attracted a wealth of input from those who have “skin in the industry”.
A series of exercises examined key industry issues and responsibilities.
Among the points noted were lack of public education about the industry, the under-valuation of a quality Australian product and improving the industry’s image.
SA Dairyfarmers Association president John Hunt said the event was one of the best attended workshops he had seen in the region.
“It was really great to see so many of our producers, processors and stakeholders come on board for the event this week,” he said.
“We are seeing great numbers across the country attending these consultations as well as taking part in the online portion.
“I think we are getting a really good cross section of ideas from all aspects of the industry.”
Mr Hunt said the mix of representatives along the dairy chain brought an array of ideas and values.
“It was great to see no one had one quick fix to our problems,” he said.
“This means we are not just missing one little thing, there are things we can work on and chip away at to grow as an industry.
“There also was not any blaming, nobody said this is all your fault or why did you do this, it was just about coming together to help everyone.”
Overall, Mr Hunt said the joint improvement effort would benefit the industry for years to come.
“I think it was also positive to note that overall everyone was quite happy with the top five or six problems that we highlighted,” Mr Hunt said.
“It all aligned with our SA Dairy Plan as well which means we are really getting to the root of the problems and coming to an agreement about what needs changing.
“The industry bodies are listening and we are hopeful we can make a change for the better through this plan.”
