On Tuesday, Kyvalley Dairy Group was revealed as the mystery buyer of the Kiewa Country milk brand.

Kyvalley owner Wayne Mulcahy said he understood the affection for Kiewa-branded milk and he planned to produce it at his Kyabram plant if there was adequate demand.

“If we get strong signals the community would support the brand, our intention is to manufacture the milk,” he said.

So, how did we get here?

In 1893 the Kiewa Butter Factory opened its doors, over the decades the factory grew and merged to create an industry stalwart in the region. 

In 1959, the Kiewa Butter Factory merged with the Tallangatta Butter Factory and Creamery Company to become the North Eastern Dairy Company, before transforming into the iconic Kiewa Milk brand.

In February 2016, Goulburn Murray announced a 34 per cent drop in profits, in part due to the weak global dairy price. 

Two months later Murray Goulburn’s international products were pulled from China’s biggest e-commerce site as a part of the country’s wider crack down on imported food. 

The outlook continued to dim when Murray Goulburn announced a special unit trading halt as it revised its earnings outlook. 

Five days later then-managing director of Murray Goulburn Gary Helou resigned and the co-operative slashed both its profit forecast and the price it paid to farmers. 

The company released a trading update on Wednesday morning stating it now expected a net profit after tax of between $39 million and $42 million. In February the company predicted a net profit of about $63 million. That was down from its prospectus forecast of $89 million.

In February the company predicted a farmgate price of $5.60 per kilogram of milk solids. In April 2016, it expected that number to be between $4.75 and $5 per kilogram of milk solids.

A class action against Murray Goulburn and its board was launched as investors alleged they had been misled. 

In July, the co-operative continued to slash farm gate milk prices and lost a $108 million contact with Woolworths.

In August, the company announces a $40 million profit, angering farmers who saw returns slashed. 

In May, workers and the Border region were devastated by the announcement Murray Goulburn would close its Kiewa plant, leaving 135 workers without jobs. 

Since then numerous politicians, union officials and workers have tried to change the co-operative’s decision or find alternatives to keep the brand and plant alive. 

Workers were left in a state of flux, but called on the company not to mothball the site. 

On July 14, Wagga’s Riverina Fresh said they would aim to replicate the beloved Kiewa Iced Coffee as it expanded its presence in Albury-Wodonga. 

Wangaratta and Myrtleford milk distributors announced last week they would opt for Warrnambool’s Sungold to replace Kiewa. 

On Monday morning Murray Goulburn released a statement stating the company had entered into agreements to sell to Kiewa Country Milk brand. 

Kyvalley Dairy Group has been revealed as the mystery buyer of the Kiewa Country milk brand.

The Kyabram-based company purchased the brand and “certain associated milk processing and packaging assets” in July but their identity has been kept under wraps.

Kyvalley owner Wayne Mulcahy said he understood the affection for Kiewa-branded milk and he planned to produce it at his Kyabram plant if there was adequate demand.

“We understand it to be an iconic heritage brand and it was distributed as far as Kyabram and Echuca in our area,” Mr Mulcahy said.

“We want to gauge the support of the community and distributors in the relaunch of the brand.

“If we get strong signals the community would support the brand, our intention is to manufacture the milk.”