Australia’s oldest dairy farming company recorded a loss of almost $NZ10 million last financial year.
The Van Dieman’s Land Company says the result is due to their continued investment in expansion and poor milk prices.
Company CEO Mike Guerin says the result is not likely to scare off potential investors in the $180 million expansion planned by the north west Tasmanian company.
«Last year we lifted our milk production by around 12 per cent,» he said.
«Those people who choose to or want to invest in agriculture understand the cycles of agriculture.
«And agriculture has always been and will always be an industry where in some years it’s very hard to make a dollar, and in others you make a premium.»
Mr Guerin says the company, which owns and operates 25 dairy farms, is positive about its future and the outlook for the dairy industry in Australia.
«2012 – 13 was a tough financial year for dairy, we were no different to that,» he said.
«Milk price has declined for the previous two years in a row down to about $5 last year.
«Combine low milk prices with tough environmental conditions which lift your cost of production and you need to make a choice whether you carry on producing milk with very little profit, or you reduce your supply,» he said.
«We chose to carry on investing in growth, but that cost us financially like it did everybody, and we made a loss on the year, but built that production platform because of the forecast lift in milk price which we’re now starting to see.»
Source: ABC
