The first 60 grant applications, under the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) dairy fund have been approved.
More than 600 applications for the grants were received; farmers would receive between five thousand and $20,000, VFF president David Jochinke said.
Coles supermarkets donated the first $1million from its Nurture Fund.
The successful applications were chosen by an advisory panel chaired by Mr Jochinke, which also included National Farmers Federation (NFF) and the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria (UDV) members.
The selection process was conducted anonymously with all applications being de-identified before being assessed by the panel
“It was a tough ask to select the best applications from 600, but all projects were considered on their merit, how they would sustain the dairy business and the commitment of the applicants to improving their farm practices over time,” Mr Jochinke said.
The selected projects covered a diverse range including:
· Upgrades to effluent ponds
· Building calf rearing facilities
· Irrigation infrastructure
· Succession planning;
· Establishing shelter belts
· Dairy equipment
· Feeding systems
Mr Jochinke said the range of projects put forward - and the sheer number of applications made to the Fund – demonstrated the challenges farmers were facing, as they managed a significant drop in income as a result of the global milk price decrease.
“With a finite amount of funding available, hard choices had to be made,” Mr Jochinke said. “No doubt some farmers will be disappointed to miss out on this round but we are opening the second round and will be able to distribute more grants early next year.”
The amount of funding available in the next round of grants will be determined by the sales of the Farmers Fund milk in Coles Supermarkets.
Applications for the next round of funding are open now and will close on December 31.
