Don't laugh - this is serious.

Dairy Farmers says about one million of its blue milk crates are lost, misused or damaged every year, and the problem is costing Australia's hard-pressed dairy farmers dearly.

The company is demonstrating the impact of their loss with a display at its Lidcombe distribution centre in Sydney, where 100 crates have been piled up beside a tonne of hay.

It says 100 crates need replacing every hour - and their value to farmers is the same as that of the haystack.

To bring the importance of the issue home to city folk, the display will become an exhibit at the Royal Easter Show beginning on April 5.

Farmer Gavin Moore, from Camden, south-west of Sydney, said the loss of milk crates is a huge cost to struggling farmers already facing drought.

"Dairy Farmers is an Aussie business owned by Aussie farmers. When blue milk crates go missing, it indirectly costs farmers and our families money to replace them," Mr Moore said in a statement issued by the company.

"Every hour 100 crates go missing. To put it in farm terms, this equates to the value of one tonne of hay, which feeds 70 cows or half the average farmer's herd per day."

Source: 2GB News