Murray Goulburn sets $4.70 opening milk price, starts strategic review

The co-operative is taking a careful approach to the next financial year’s milk market, offering suppliers a restrained opening price at $4.70 a kilogram of milk solids for the new season in its southern region.

“We recognise that MG is in a challenging situation trying to navigate its way from the past into the future, but a $4.70/kg milk solids opening price presents a serious challenge for dairy farmers who are still recovering from the events of last year,” United Dairyfarmers of Victoria President Adam Jenkins said.

“The importance now is for MG to deliver returns to farmers as soon as the returns are realised in the marketplace.”

He said dairy suppliers had welcomed MG’s honesty and transparency is releasing a conservative opening milk price, with a full year forecast of $5.20-$5.40/kg MS. 

The United Dairyfarmers of Victoria passed a motion at its annual conference in May to call on milk processors to release their opening prices by June 10 each year, ahead of the season.

Mr Jenkins said the early release of an opening milk price showed MG had listened to industry and the farming community. 

MG has also announced the start of a comprehensive strategic review of “all aspects of its strategy and corporate structure” –  including its capital structure and profit-sharing mechanism with outside investors.

Workers at Murray Goulburn’s Kiewa dairy were recently told that milk production at the plant will end in the last week of July as milk processing is transferred to the company’s Cobram factory.