One of Victoria’s smaller milk processors has told one of its suppliers her milk payments would work out at less than 40 cents a litre, next season.
National Dairy Products (NDP) supplier Wyena Holsteins, Donna Edge said her income estimate was 34.7c/l.
“That’s my income estimation for next year,” Ms Edge, of Carpendeit, said.
As an NDP supplier, Ms Edge is not eligible for the Federal government’s concessional loans, which only go to Murray Goulburn and Fonterra farmers.
NDP suppliers also had their price cut from $5.90 a kilogram of milk solids to $5.18/kg for April through to June.
It’s 2016-17 net price is $5kg/ms, but Ms Edge said her average fat and protein was 4.2 and 3.3 per cent.
NDP managing director Tony Esposito thanked suppliers for their support, “through what has been a very tough time.
“National Dairy Products will continue to work with customers and follow the market conditions, to ensure that we are maximising the margins that are able to be passed on to our supplier base,” Mr Esposito said.
Ms Edge said she had a herd of 125 cows, which were highly productive, but the cost of production had gone up by more than $5000 in 12 months.
“We look after our cows, even though we need to feed them, its still profitable – the last three years, when it was so dry, we had to borrow quite a bit to feed them.”
She said, on the estimates supplied by NDP, she would be down $50,000 this year.
“That’s $50,000 less next year, than what we got this year, that’s $50,000 we don’t have to spend in the local economy,” Ms Edge said.
“It’s not as if we are going to put it in the bank and leave it in the bank.”
She said she was working, off farm, to try and stay in business.
But she said repairs and machinery purchases would have to be deferred, or let go, altogether.
