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Aussie dairy farmer's heartbreaking post pleading for fair milk prices


A dairy farmer has spoken out online about the struggles the industry is facing, pleading with consumers to support a campaign which is urging supermarkets to increase the cost of milk as a drought levy.

Kay Tommerup, from Kerry in Queensland, wrote on the Tommerup’s Dairy Farm Facebook page on Monday this was a chance to make a positive change in an industry which is at “breaking point”.

“I have to admit that in the past few weeks I’ve struggled to reconcile how so much time, effort and soul can go into our dairy business with no financial reward whatsoever,” Ms Tommerup began her post.

“It seems a constant battle to think outside the square and come up with something new to add value to our milk.

“We’re certainly not alone in feeling like this and we know so many who no longer have the energy to continue the battle.

“So many who have no other option but to shut the dairy gate, sell the cows and somehow find a way to make that feel right, in their conscience.”

Kay Tommerup wrote an emotional post online about the struggles of the dairy farming industry. Source: Tommerup’s Dairy Farm/ Facebook
Kay Tommerup wrote an emotional post online about the struggles of the dairy farming industry. Source: Tommerup’s Dairy Farm/ Facebook
Part of the post which was shared online on Monday. Source: Tommerup’s Dairy Farm/ Facebook
Part of the post which was shared online on Monday. Source: Tommerup’s Dairy Farm/ Facebook

She added: “This situation is not just about the drought; this has been building for so long and the drought has been the final straw for many.”

Ms Tommerup told Yahoo7 farmers did not want handouts, saying they just want a sustainable price moving forward.

In her post she asked consumers to help them speak up in a “united voice” and support an online petition started by the Queensland Dairy Organisation (QDO) to have the levy imposed through the major supermarkets.

“It’s urging the supermarkets to increase the price of milk by 10c/litre as a drought levy. 10c/litre to go directly to farming families,” Ms Tommerup explained about the petition in her online post.

“We believe this should be a permanent increase and only the start of what becomes realistic milk pricing in the future.”

The family have been able to diversify their farm but acknowledge not everyone is in that position. Source: Tommerup’s Dairy Farm/ Facebook
The family have been able to diversify their farm but acknowledge not everyone is in that position. Source: Tommerup’s Dairy Farm/ Facebook

The Tommerup family, who has been in the dairy industry for more than a century, were able to diversify their property and have created a farmstay.

But Ms Tommerup acknowledged not everyone is in the position to run an agri-tourism business.

“There’s no way we can make a go of it with the prices as they are,” she told Yahoo7.

“We make money with our other business and that money has to go into keeping our dairy farm going. We both work about 100 hours a week and work hard.”

Ms Tommerup’s post has been shared more than 200 times. Source: Tommerup’s Dairy Farm/ Facebook
Ms Tommerup’s post has been shared more than 200 times. Source: Tommerup’s Dairy Farm/ Facebook

More than 15,000 people have signed the online petition so far.

It calls on Coles and Woolworths to collect the levy by increasing prices and for milk processors to guarantee to pass the full amount back to farmers.

Both supermarkets quoted an ACCC report following an inquiry into the dairy sector, released in May, which found there was no link between prices paid to farmers by processors and the amount charged for private label milk in their stores.

“We believe a holistic solution involving industry and government is needed to drive meaningful and long-term reform in the dairy sector,” a Woolworths spokesperson said in a statement.

The company says it has raised more than $7 million for Rural Aid to assist farmers, while Coles said it had contributed almost $11 million in donations, grants and interest-free loans to farmers and rural communities affected by drought.