United Dairyfarmers of Victoria Wannon branch president Bruce Knowles said south-west dairy farmers were also being hit hard by the drought because it had dramatically increased the price of hay they were paying.

While the south-west has not been hit by the dry conditions affecting much of eastern Australia, Mr Knowles said the high hay prices caused by the strong demand for fodder from drought-affected areas were forcing local dairy farmers to cut herd numbers.

His comments come after Woolworths announced it would add an extra 10 cents a litre to a special range of milk that it will sell from mid-October to help drought stricken-farmers.

The national dairy farmer body, Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF), has also called for the proceeds from the extra 10 cents a litre to be distributed to all dairy farmers.

Coles also announced it will increase the price of its three litre Own Brand milk from $3 to $3.30 until the end of the year, with the extra 30c to go to the National Farmers’ Federation’s 2018 Drought Relief Fund.

While Mr Richardson welcomed the milk price increases by supermarkets to provide drought relief, he maintained the ADF’s opposition to the supermarkets’ cheap own brand milk that will raise the drought funds.

He said drought relief milk was only a temporary measure and not a cure and the ADF remained committed to pushing for a permanent end to discounted dairy products, including cheap cheese.

“You can’t justify a situation where a litre of milk is being sold on supermarket shelves for less than a litre of water and this must practice must stop,” Mr Richardson said.

He said the drought was an opportunity for supermarkets to scrap their discounted dairy products and he encouraged people to buy branded dairy products. 

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