DAIRY farmers across Victoria are being encouraged to have their say on social licence and the dairy farm at next week’s United Dairyfarmers of Victoria (UDV) conference in Melbourne.
Issues such as animal activism, animal health and welfare, genetically modified rye-grass and onshore gas are on the agenda.
All these issues could impact the industry and farmers' social licence to operate, so UDV president Adam Jenkins said it was imperative that farmers discussed them.
‘Social licence’ is taken to mean acceptance or approval continually granted to the activities of an industry or an organisation by the community.
In February this year, dairy farmers in south-west Victoria came together to discuss animal health and welfare. At that meeting, the Wannon region dairy branch voted unanimously, "That the UDV adopt as policy that non-therapeutic induction of calves should be proactively phased out over three years".
This resolution has now been submitted to the UDV to be debated at the conference.
Mr Jenkins said if dairy farmers wanted to shape the future of their industry and be continually granted social licence to operate, they must be at the MCG on April 29.
"The dairy industry was recently told by the Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce that ‘the world is run by those who turn up’, so I am encouraging anyone who cares about the future of our industry to turn up to the UDV Conference," he said.
This year’s conference will include a dairy farmers’ breakfast at 7.30am on Wednesday, April 29 with keynote speaker VFF Egg Group president Brian Ahmed, followed by the UDV annual meeting at 9.30am and the UDV conference at 10.30am.
The UDV is also excited to welcome Fairfax financial journalist Michael Pascoe, as the keynote speaker for the UDV Presidents’ Dinner and Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford who will officially open the conference.
Details: Visit www.vff.org.au/udvconference