He worried for the emotional well-being of young dairy farming families facing a tough short-term future following the decision by Devondale Murray Goulburn to cut the farm gate milk price from $5.60 a kilogram to between $4.75 and $5. It left many without income to meet their operational costs.

“Agriculture needs young farmers and it’s so hard on them when this happens,” Mr Cook said on Monday.

“If you’re going to feed the world you’ve got to have farmers and you’ve got to pay farmers enough. This low, the way it has happened in the last two months of the financial year is just crippling.”

Mr Cook’s family has been farming in the King Valley for more than 70 years and his sons Ross and Steve operate Country Road Holsteins study dairy.

He said several measures could be implemented immediately, such as Dairy Australia waiving farmer levy charges, bank loan relief and greater access to financial and emotional support programs.

Justin Evans, who operates Three Creeks Stud dairy at Greta with his wife Brooke, urged Murray Goulburn to set an opening price so they could plan for the year ahead.

“If it’s going to cost $200,000 to get through the next 12 months, what happens if the dairy job doesn’t come good? It’s 18 months and $300,000, so you’re $300,000 down the creek,” Mr Evans said.

“If young farmers decide to leave the industry now they won’t come back to it.

“Who’s going to fill that hole? If we can’t sustain young farmers now, we’re going to have a problem in 10 years time with no farmers.”

Mrs Evans said the demands on counselling services meant it was difficult to make an appointment.

“And it affects them the same because they go from farm to farm trying to find answers for people and there are none,” she said.

There were 1500 dairy farms across North East Victoria and southern Riverina which employed up to 5000 people and thousands more at processing sites.