Latest news with #MichaelPartridge
ABC News
2 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
WA dairy farmers dismayed at 'stagnant' milk prices amid rising costs
West Australian dairy farmers say they are disappointed by the ongoing stagnation of farmgate milk prices as repeated dry seasons and rising costs take a toll. Processors recently published their 2025-26 supply agreements as part of transparency measures in the Dairy Industry Code of Conduct. For the third successive year, WA processors have been offered no substantive price increase. The disappointment was shared by interstate producers, where processors have offered slight increases. Dairy farmers in WA's South West have called on local milk processors to review their offers, with one major processor, Bega, already conceding to a two-cent-per-litre rise. Brunswick dairy farmer Michael Partridge said the initial price offered by Bega was not enough. "Prices haven't moved for three and a half years; last year was a really hard year for farmers in Western Australia," he said. "The Dairy Farm Performance Program, which Dairy Australia did, showed 50 per cent of dairy farmers made a loss, and there was an average 2 per cent return on investment, and the prices didn't move, which was extremely disappointing." Though 2-cents-per-litre extra from Bega was not enough, Mr Partridge said it was a start. "I was pleased to hear that Bega has announced a 2-cent price rise, but it's not enough to turn the industry around," he said. He called on other big processors to do the same. "We really need the other two processors, Brownes and Lactalis, to follow suit, and push it further," he said. WAFarmers Dairy Council president Ian Noakes, who also runs a dairy in the south west of the state, said the stagnation of pricing ignored the fact that production costs had risen substantially for dairies. Mr Noakes said his lobby group was seeking a 5-cent increase to support farmers to be profitable. He said WA's average farmgate price ranged between 60-70 cents per litre, and that pricing hadn't materially changed in the last three years. While East Coast dairies had access to overseas export markets, WA's dairy farmers were constrained to a comparatively small, local market. For that reason, Mr Noakes partially blamed the major supermarkets' low-priced home brand milk ranges for the subdued pricing offered by WA processors. Mr Noakes recently presented to an ACCC inquiry into Australia's major supermarkets, urging the regulator to recognise the damage of home brand milk ranges. The ABC contacted WA's major dairy processors for comment, of which Coles was the only one to respond. "We introduced a direct sourcing model for our own brand milk in 2019 to ensure we could provide fair, competitive and guaranteed farm gate prices to dairy farmers directly," a Coles spokesperson said in a statement. "Our multi-year agreements for our direct supply dairy farmers aim to support them in longer-term planning, and as part of the process of setting these agreements, we consider a range of factors including supply volumes, customer demand, farm production costs, and dairy market condition,s including commodity prices." Harvey Fresh's parent company, Lactalis, declined to comment, and Brownes and Bega were yet to respond.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Strood man waits four years for drop kerb to be installed
A man who was promised a dropped kerb four years ago still has not got one, despite being told repeatedly one would be put Partridge, 74, was promised the work outside his property in Penguin Close, Strood, as part of a package of alterations by mhs homes in August other jobs, including the building of a wet room and the creation of a hard-standing area for his car outside his home, were completed but the dropped kerb is still housing association said it had been waiting for permission from Medway Council, while the authority said it hoped work would begin in a week, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Mr Partridge said: "I've been banging my head against the wall, you know. I've been contacting people, my daughter has for me, even my next-door neighbour has, but we just don't seem to get anywhere."If you get through to somebody, eventually they say 'Oh yeah, we'll sort that' and that's it, you never hear anything back."Mr Partridge has the lung disease emphysema and needs to carry an oxygen tank with him wherever he there was a delay in getting the dropped kerb, he did suggest a disabled parking bay instead, but the only viable spot would be across the street which is too far for him to means every time Michael wants to park up, he has to mount the kerb. An mhs spokesperson said: "We understand Mr Partridge's frustration at the length of time taken for the kerb to be dropped."The dropped kerb was agreed as part of a package of improvements that also included a new wet room and driveway, both of which have been completed."Unfortunately, the kerb cannot be dropped until we have the relevant permission from Medway Council. "However, we're working closely with the local authority to resolve this situation as quickly as possible."Medway Council said: "Work to install the dropped kerb is due to take place next week."We are investigating a delay in processing payment for the work."
