Australian Dairy Farmers vice-president Simon Jolliffe said the dairy crisis has forced farmers to take a close look at their business and was confident the industry will rebound.
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“It’s been a big shock to the industry … but, in true spirit of agriculture generally, farmers are knuckling down,” she said at Henty this week.
“Some have had to make some really difficult decisions around their business and the future but there’s a lot of people who have knuckled down and are sticking it out.”
“They are continuing to do what they love and they get up every day and they milk their cows.”
Mrs Jolliffe, who farms at "Currajugle", Euberta with her husband Neil, said a favourable spring would push the cost of production down in dairy areas hard hit by price cuts.
“This time last year was a really dry spring across a lot of regions and people had to go out and invest in buying fodder and grain, we don’t have that situation at the moment but a lot of their reserves went into propping up the last financial year,” she said.
She said early indications suggest world markets were rectifying themselves and expected the industry was be ready to capitalize as world supply decreases and prices rise.
“It has really pulled the industry together from a business perspective,” Mrs Jolliffe said.
“A lot of farmers are really looking at their businesses in a much greater detail than they ever did before and for farmer to be so astutely aware of their business has to be a positive for the industry and our long-term sustainability.”