Guy Barnett,Minister for Primary Industries and Water
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is delighted to join the dairy industry in celebrating a new annual record for milk production in Tasmania.
In 2020-21, Tasmania's dairy industry produced 961 million litres of milk, which is up 1.2 per cent from the previous year. This is excellent news and the result reflects the ongoing success of Tasmanian dairy.
This latest record exceeds the previous 2019-20 record for milk production, which saw 950 million litres of milk produced. Confidence amongst dairy farmers remains high and solid milk prices have been announced by all Tasmanian-based milk processors for the coming 2021-22 season.
With this confidence, we are seeing many farmers reinvest in their businesses through upgrades, such as irrigation, effluent systems, calf rearing sheds and more. As reported by Dairy Australia, Tasmania's results from the National Dairy Farmer Survey resulted in almost all respondents (96 per cent) making an operating profit in 2019/20 and a similar proportion expect to do so this financial year.
The Tasmanian Government has been a strong and consistent supporter of our dairy industry and we will continue to do so as the industry grows.
The 2021-22 Tasmanian Budget provides $100,000 in further funding to DairyTas to support the Cows out of Creeks program. This program has helped build over 111 kilometers of fencing and 150 water troughs on 37 dairy and beef farms in Circular Head, meaning some 240,000 cattle are limited from accessing waterways, providing a win-win for stock health and the creeks and rivers in the region.
This complements previous Government funding for the Tasmanian dairy industry, such as:
- A $300,000, three-year project in partnership with DairyTas, aimed at helping everyone in the dairy industry take their next steps;
- $240,000 as part of the dairy-specific round of the On Farm Energy Audits and Grant program;
- $80,000 to train 40 local Artificial Insemination (AI) technicians;
- $70,000, over two years, to deliver a financial management mentoring and business planning program for dairy farmers; and
- Extension of the Stock Underpass Program, which assists farmers (mostly in the dairy industry) to construct road underpasses to safely and efficiently move stock.
The Tasmanian Liberal Government has an ambitious target to grow the annual farm-gate value of agriculture to $10 billion by 2050 and the dairy industry is a key contributor to this goal.
