The haves and have nots of Australian dairy
I’ve had requests from farmers, investors, the media and even politicians for an explanation of how milk prices work (or don’t). I’m going to start with the factors that affect the price a dairy farmer...
View ArticleTheo was too right…
Here’s an unpalatable truth: when Fonterra head Theo Spierings said the milk price was unsustainable back in August last year, he was right. He also said the way milk prices are set needs to change....
View ArticleWhy I welcomed Four Corners to our dairy
I’m looking forward to watching Four Corners tonight with all the enthusiasm of a patient awaiting the lancing of a boil. Will it be fun? No. Will it be good for me? I guess so. It’s almost four months...
View ArticleCould this have been the wake-up call Aussie dairy needed?
When the two biggest processors of Australia’s milk, Murray Goulburn and Fonterra, squandered the goodwill of farmers earlier this year, there was a sense they could do as they wished. They made the...
View ArticleACCC takes Helou, Hingle and MG to court but lets Fonterra off the hook
Today, the ACCC announced that it is taking Murray Goulburn to the Federal Court for unconscionable conduct. It will also pursue MG’s former MD, Gary Helou, and CFO, Brad Hingle. That’s a bit of a...
View ArticleExplainer: What the ACCC means by…
After the ACCC announced today that it was taking MG and two of its former big bananas – MD, Gary Helou, and CFO, Brad Hingle – to court, Milk Maid Marian asked the competition watchdog to explain a...
View ArticleBonlac on keeping Fonterra honest
Fonterra’s announcement on Wednesday had at least one enthusiastic endorsement. In a press release, the Bonlac Supply Company chairman, Tony Marwood, declared the announcement a “good news story”. The...
View ArticleSpreadsheets for brekky, lunch and dinner again
The first opening milk price announcement for the new season has been made. And it’s spreadsheet time again for farmers and processors alike. Why? Because Murray Goulburn has come in at $4.70 kgMS –...
View ArticlePlanning for disaster while dodging a bullet
Today’s blossoming of the very first daffodil reminded me we’re on the cusp of Spring – our 12 weeks of make or break on the farm. Only yesterday, a banker asked me how the outlook was on farm. Anxious...
View ArticleThe change has only just begun: Rabo
Buckle up. That’s the message threaded right through a report on Australia’s dairy supply chain by Rabobank‘s Michael Harvey released today. While so many of us are aching for some stability, for...
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