Tough Times for Dairy Farmers
AUSTRALIA - Concern is rising in Australia and New Zealand over the prices farmers are receiving for raw milk.
10 July 2009
1 minute read
According to a report in The Mercury agricultural consultant Basil Doonan told a dairy conference in Burnie this week that he believed some farmers would quit because the situation is getting so tight.
The farmers face a hard season as demad drops and the global financial crisis bites and subsidies flow to American and European farmers, The Mercury says.
Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association dairy council chairman Alan Davenport said the situation was tough as input costs including fertiliser, grain, fuel and power are al rising and farmers were facing greater burden of debt.
The New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, which buys milk from about two-thirds of Tasmanian farmers, has cut its price by 40 per cent to 27cents a litre, below the pice of production, making the situation more difficult for the farming community.
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