«We’ve been seeking a lot of legal advice around that,» he said.
The UDV believes regulation is needed to force processors to change as they will not change on their own.
Mr Jenkins said the UDV had been providing the ACCC with as much information as possible to make that happen.
New South Wales dairy farm lobby group supports the call for change to contracts
The president of Dairy Connect Farmers’ Group, Graham Forbes, said dairy farmers needed to be better protected.
«The big issue the industry has got are these supply agreements and certainly it was the claw back provisions in Victoria that have backfired on farmers at the moment and haven’t given a true price indication,» he said.
The dairy farmer from Barrington in northern NSW will fly to Melbourne next week to attend a meeting organised by Barnaby Joyce, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture.
«He’s bringing all the industry leaders and the processors and retailers together and we’re going to insist that the root of the problem, the supply agreements, are approached,» he said.
«As we saw last night anytime there’s an issue with a failure of management to deliver their expectations, all that failure is pushed back onto the farmers.
«We believe if there were proper codes of conduct within the supply agreements that it would strengthen the industry.
«We’re not out there to bash the processors, and we believe we’ve got a strong industry that could be invested in and people to have confidence but with the supply agreements we have now the industry’s losing all trust on both sides.»
While the Four Corners program focussed on the impact on the southern suppliers to Murray Goulburn there has been a flow-on effect to northern suppliers.
In late June Murray Goulburn announced that from the start of July a price of 46.7 cents a litre, based on 3.9 per cent butterfat and 3.2 per cent protein, for its farmers in the NSW-Sydney region.
Mr Forbes said that even farmers in northern New South Wales had been doing it tough since their milk price was cut six weeks ago.
«I spoke to a young farmer yesterday on a small farm and if he doesn’t change his practices and produces milk the same way as he did last year he’ll be getting 44 cents a litre for his milk where he got 53 cents for it last year,» he said.
«At this stage the northern end of the industry hasn’t been affected but with those prices in the Hunter and Manning if it’s not addressed there will be flow-on effects to the whole industry.
«It could have the effect of collapsing the northern NSW and the Queensland industry which has not been affected at this moment.»
Murray Goulburn supplier feels disappointed and deceived
Steve Germon, a dairy farmer from the Manning Valley on the NSW mid-north coast, said he was disappointed by what he heard on last night’s Four Corners program.
As a supplier to the co-operative, he felt management had not been forthcoming about what was happening with the milk prices.
«We have been deceived,» he said.
«Thinking that it’s all world milk prices and it hasn’t been; it’s been a lot more bad management.»
Mr Germon found the interview with Murray Goulburn’s chairman Phillip Tracy as a moment that struck out for him.
Mr Tracy revealed during the Four Corners program that the board did consider not paying dividends to shareholders in light of what is happening to dairy farmers.
«We do not believe it is in the best interest of the co-op,» Mr Tracy said.
«In our view, it is not the solution to the problem».
Mr Germon thought they should use the profits to assist struggling dairy farmers.
Later today, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and his Deputy Barnaby Joyce will meet with representatives of Murray Goulburn.
Mr Germon hopes this meeting will find ways to assist farmers affected by the price drops.
«We don’t need loans, what we do need is support,» he said.
Source: ABC
Link: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-16/dairy-farmer-lobby-groups-plan-ditching-contracts/7747166