Latest news with #EastAUSMilk
West Australian
3 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Milk, butter prices tipped to soar as floods, droughts squeeze beleaguered Aussie dairy farmers
Milk and butter prices are predicted to surge, with floods destroying dairy farms in NSW and the driest conditions on record crippling those in Victoria and South Australia. Many NSW farmers are embarking on gruelling post-flood clean-up efforts, returning to their properties to find their cattle dead or missing, fences and infrastructure destroyed, and machinery submerged in flood waters that will likely need to be replaced. Dams and paddocks are also dry in Victoria and South Australia, with fodder prices reaching nearly double their usual amount. 'I think the whole eastern seaboard is going to feel the shortage of milk and dairy products one way or the other,' EastAUSMilk president Joe Bradley told The Age. 'There's no ifs or buts … it's a disaster. Prices have to rise.' EastAusmilk chief executive Eric Danzi warned this may be the first time many Australians see the devastation of the floods would be when they go to their local supermarket. 'There is going to be a real shortage of milk and products,' he told 2GB. 'How that plays through to consumers I don't know. 'Between the floods now, ex- Cyclone Alfred and the drought in South Australia as well as Victoria you're going to have a massive reduction in milk production across Australia.' Leaders of the Australian dairy industry have called on governments to take immediate action. 'More than 40 per cent of Australia's dairy farmers are in drought, many of them battling the driest conditions on record, including in South Australia, South West Victoria, and extending into Gippsland, Northern Victoria and southern NSW,' a statement from industry body Australian Dairy Farmers said. 'Meanwhile, dairy farmers in NSW are cleaning up after a 1-in-500 year flood. 'We've issued an urgent plea to state and federal governments for meaningful support for dairy farmers.' Among the requests is for the NSW government to roll out Category D and C disaster grants. Currently, personal hardship assistance grants of $180 per individual or $900 per family are available, along with $1m community recovery grants for affected local councils. NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders said that these are not going far enough to support flood-impacted residents. 'When you've got people who have lost literally everything – whether it's their home in town or their home out of town, and their hundred cattle or two hundred cattle, or all their fences or all of their fodder crops … 180 bucks or 900 bucks isn't going to help,' he told 2GB. 'Category D means everything is on the table. There are primary producer grants, there are small business grants, there are more household grants available, there are more council grants available.' Over the past two weeks, a majority of Victoria received 20 per cent or less of the average typical rainfall expected in May, and the latest reporting from the Bureau of Meteorology indicated these conditions are likely to continue into June. The Victorian Government on Friday announced it will deliver a new and expanded Drought Package due to the worsening conditions – supported by an additional $37.7 million in funding. New analysis by the Treasury estimated that the immediate loss of economic activity from natural disasters so far in 2025 will be $2.2 billion.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Price of common Aussie staples to soar
Milk and butter prices are predicted to surge, with floods destroying dairy farms in NSW and the driest conditions on record crippling those in Victoria and South Australia. Many NSW farmers are embarking on gruelling post-flood clean-up efforts, returning to their properties to find their cattle dead or missing, fences and infrastructure destroyed, and machinery submerged in flood waters that will likely need to be replaced. Dams and paddocks are also dry in Victoria and South Australia, with fodder prices reaching nearly double their usual amount. 'I think the whole eastern seaboard is going to feel the shortage of milk and dairy products one way or the other,' EastAUSMilk president Joe Bradley told The Age. 'There's no ifs or buts … it's a disaster. Prices have to rise.' EastAusmilk chief executive Eric Danzi warned this may be the first time many Australians see the devastation of the floods would be when they go to their local supermarket. 'There is going to be a real shortage of milk and products,' he told 2GB. 'How that plays through to consumers I don't know. 'Between the floods now, ex- Cyclone Alfred and the drought in South Australia as well as Victoria you're going to have a massive reduction in milk production across Australia.' Leaders of the Australian dairy industry have called on governments to take immediate action. 'More than 40 per cent of Australia's dairy farmers are in drought, many of them battling the driest conditions on record, including in South Australia, South West Victoria, and extending into Gippsland, Northern Victoria and southern NSW,' a statement from industry body Australian Dairy Farmers said. 'Meanwhile, dairy farmers in NSW are cleaning up after a 1-in-500 year flood. 'We've issued an urgent plea to state and federal governments for meaningful support for dairy farmers.' Among the requests is for the NSW government to roll out Category D and C disaster grants. Currently, personal hardship assistance grants of $180 per individual or $900 per family are available, along with $1m community recovery grants for affected local councils. NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders said that these are not going far enough to support flood-impacted residents. 'When you've got people who have lost literally everything – whether it's their home in town or their home out of town, and their hundred cattle or two hundred cattle, or all their fences or all of their fodder crops … 180 bucks or 900 bucks isn't going to help,' he told 2GB. 'Category D means everything is on the table. There are primary producer grants, there are small business grants, there are more household grants available, there are more council grants available.' Over the past two weeks, a majority of Victoria received 20 per cent or less of the average typical rainfall expected in May, and the latest reporting from the Bureau of Meteorology indicated these conditions are likely to continue into June. The Victorian Government on Friday announced it will deliver a new and expanded Drought Package due to the worsening conditions – supported by an additional $37.7 million in funding. New analysis by the Treasury estimated that the immediate loss of economic activity from natural disasters so far in 2025 will be $2.2 billion.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Milk, butter prices tipped to soar as floods, droughts squeeze beleaguered Aussie dairy farmers
Milk and butter prices are predicted to surge, with floods destroying dairy farms in NSW and the driest conditions on record crippling those in Victoria and South Australia. Many NSW farmers are embarking on gruelling post-flood clean-up efforts, returning to their properties to find their cattle dead or missing, fences and infrastructure destroyed, and machinery submerged in flood waters that will likely need to be replaced. Dams and paddocks are also dry in Victoria and South Australia, with fodder prices reaching nearly double their usual amount. 'I think the whole eastern seaboard is going to feel the shortage of milk and dairy products one way or the other,' EastAUSMilk president Joe Bradley told The Age. 'There's no ifs or buts … it's a disaster. Prices have to rise.' EastAusmilk chief executive Eric Danzi warned this may be the first time many Australians see the devastation of the floods would be when they go to their local supermarket. 'There is going to be a real shortage of milk and products,' he told 2GB. 'How that plays through to consumers I don't know. 'Between the floods now, ex- Cyclone Alfred and the drought in South Australia as well as Victoria you're going to have a massive reduction in milk production across Australia.' Leaders of the Australian dairy industry have called on governments to take immediate action. 'More than 40 per cent of Australia's dairy farmers are in drought, many of them battling the driest conditions on record, including in South Australia, South West Victoria, and extending into Gippsland, Northern Victoria and southern NSW,' a statement from industry body Australian Dairy Farmers said. 'Meanwhile, dairy farmers in NSW are cleaning up after a 1-in-500 year flood. 'We've issued an urgent plea to state and federal governments for meaningful support for dairy farmers.' Among the requests is for the NSW government to roll out Category D and C disaster grants. Currently, personal hardship assistance grants of $180 per individual or $900 per family are available, along with $1m community recovery grants for affected local councils. NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders said that these are not going far enough to support flood-impacted residents. 'When you've got people who have lost literally everything – whether it's their home in town or their home out of town, and their hundred cattle or two hundred cattle, or all their fences or all of their fodder crops … 180 bucks or 900 bucks isn't going to help,' he told 2GB. 'Category D means everything is on the table. There are primary producer grants, there are small business grants, there are more household grants available, there are more council grants available.' Over the past two weeks, a majority of Victoria received 20 per cent or less of the average typical rainfall expected in May, and the latest reporting from the Bureau of Meteorology indicated these conditions are likely to continue into June. The Victorian Government on Friday announced it will deliver a new and expanded Drought Package due to the worsening conditions – supported by an additional $37.7 million in funding. New analysis by the Treasury estimated that the immediate loss of economic activity from natural disasters so far in 2025 will be $2.2 billion.
The Age
3 days ago
- Business
- The Age
‘Dairy shortages, no ifs or buts': Milk and butter prices to rise as farmers tread water
Australians have been told to brace for dairy shortages and higher milk, butter and cheese prices as four in five milk-producing farmers across the nation are now estimated to be struggling to recover from a natural disaster of some kind. Consumers have no choice but to face rising prices for dairy products in the short and long term, said the chiefs of EastAUSMilk and Norco. 'I think the whole eastern seaboard is going to feel the shortage of milk and dairy products one way or the other,' EastAUSMilk president Joe Bradley said. 'There's no ifs or buts [about it]; it's a disaster. Prices have to rise.' The latest NSW floods have exacerbated the struggles of dairy farmers around the country, who had already been grappling with feed, hay or water shortages, severe droughts across Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, or who were still recovering from Cyclone Alfred. Farmers in these states have been buying high volumes of feed and hay as they struggled with once-in-a-century drought and the driest 14 months on record. The Bureau of Meteorology has reported 'severe deficiency' of rainfall. The Victorian Farmers Federation has called for more short-term and long-term funding to prepare farmers for the next drought. Loading Australia's national milk production, which has been dwindling over decades, will shrink even further. Many farmers told Bradley they would exit the dairy industry after NSW's most recent catastrophic floods. 'You've had whole farms washed away, cattle washed away. You've had houses inundated. The whole business is gone,' Bradley said. He accused the NSW government of letting bureaucracy get in the way of calling a 'Category D' disaster, which would help farmers to get swift access to extra recovery support.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Dairy shortages, no ifs or buts': Milk and butter prices to rise as farmers tread water
Australians have been told to brace for dairy shortages and higher milk, butter and cheese prices as four in five milk-producing farmers across the nation are now estimated to be struggling to recover from a natural disaster of some kind. Consumers have no choice but to face rising prices for dairy products in the short and long term, said the chiefs of EastAUSMilk and Norco. 'I think the whole eastern seaboard is going to feel the shortage of milk and dairy products one way or the other,' EastAUSMilk president Joe Bradley said. 'There's no ifs or buts [about it]; it's a disaster. Prices have to rise.' The latest NSW floods have exacerbated the struggles of dairy farmers around the country, who had already been grappling with feed, hay or water shortages, severe droughts across Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, or who were still recovering from Cyclone Alfred. Farmers in these states have been buying high volumes of feed and hay as they struggled with once-in-a-century drought and the driest 14 months on record. The Bureau of Meteorology has reported 'severe deficiency' of rainfall. The Victorian Farmers Federation has called for more short-term and long-term funding to prepare farmers for the next drought. Loading Australia's national milk production, which has been dwindling over decades, will shrink even further. Many farmers told Bradley they would exit the dairy industry after NSW's most recent catastrophic floods. 'You've had whole farms washed away, cattle washed away. You've had houses inundated. The whole business is gone,' Bradley said. He accused the NSW government of letting bureaucracy get in the way of calling a 'Category D' disaster, which would help farmers to get swift access to extra recovery support.
