Cr Trotter made the comments while endorsing a report by Corangamite mayor Chris O’Connor in which he said foreign ownership of farm land, under controlled circumstances, “would not necessarily be a bad thing”.

Cr O’Connor has previously backed a proposal by the Linear Capital investment firm, which has support from Chinese investors, to buy up to 50 dairy farms in the south-west.

Overseas interest in local dairy farms has also come from the newly-listed Australian Dairy Farms company that plans to buy 14 dairy farms in the south-west.

Australian Dairy Farms launched its shares on the stock exchange this week and attracted strong interest from Asian investment firms.

Cr Trotter said he was surprised at the furore over the proposal to buy 50 dairy farms because investment was “sorely needed” in the agriculture sector.

“It will strengthen our economy,” Cr Trotter said.

Fears about the overseas interest was likely to come from those “not used to the new state of play”, he said.

The interest from corporate investors in local dairy farms would allow farmers who wanted to leave the industry to get out, he said.

However, Scotts Creek farmer and real estate agent David Falk said the key to increasing investment and production in the dairy industry was to lift the milk price rather than foreign investment.

Mr Falk said a buy-up of local dairy farms by foreign investors was likely to only take milk away from existing processors and not increase production.

He understood many of the dairy farmers in the Heytesbury area who had been approached by Linear Capital were “some of our best farmers” and were already “producing to the max”.

Mr Falk said he knew of no farms yet being sold to Linear Capital — only that they had been approached. 

“These guys (the investors) are picking off some of the best farms in the district,” Mr Falk said.

“They are getting the 500-cows-plus farms.

“Our current factories will suffer. 

I do not see the benefit to our community.”