Farmers Fund milk about to hit the shelves of Coles supermarkets in Victoria

Despite kicking off the so-called $1 per litre milk wars, Coles is launching a new, more expensive home brand to help struggling dairy farmers. By Darren Gray
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Farmers Fund milk will hit Coles supermarket shelves within days and will sell in two litre bottles for an expected price of $2.50 per bottle.
Both full cream and skim milk will be available, but it will only be sold in Victoria. The brand – which was jointly developed by the Victorian Farmers Federation and Coles – will be owned by the federation.
The milk will be produced by Coles and Australia’s largest dairy processor Murray Goulburn.
Forty cents from each bottle sold will be deposited into a fund to be managed by the Victorian Farmers Federation to provide grants of between $5000 and $20,000 to farmers affected by the controversial Murray Goulburn price clawback, which sparked the dairy crisis in late April.
Meanwhile, Murray Goulburn’s board members are expected to claim the full 50 per cent pay rise they were meant to get last year and Coles will continue to sell milk for $1 per litre – a move the industry says has conditioned consumers into buying cheap product.
Coles launched what came to be known as the controversial «milk wars» in 2011, when it slashed the price of unbranded milk to $1 per litre, forcing rival Woolworths to follow suit.
The supermarket has been slammed regularly by many dairy farmers in the years since, who have said the move threatened their viability and de-valued their product.
Farmers Federation president David Jochinke said he hoped the new label would appeal to shoppers who bought Coles brand milk.
«If you’re buying the home brand milk this is an opportunity for you to invest in the future of our dairy farmers in south eastern Australia. We’re encouraging people who are currently buying the home brand milk to step up and buy this one – that’s our target,» he said.
«It is all about us being pro-active within the industry and getting consumers to support us. This is not about waiting for the government to come and help us to invest in the future of the dairy industry.
«We’re happy that Coles is helping us with this initiative and we really encourage people to buy the milk.»
Coles has similar partnerships with dairy industry groups in South Australia with SADA Fresh milk and in Western Australia with WA Farmers First milk.
The federation said funds raised through the sale of Farmers Fund milk would be distributed to successful farmer grant applicants every three months.
It said Coles had kick-started the Farmers Fund with a $1 million contribution, which would allow the federation to fast-track the first round of grants, scheduled to be distributed by mid-October.
Mr Jochinke said dairy farmers could use the grants on personal development, farm projects such as the installation of feed pads, watering systems or silos, and professional information and advice.
 
Source: SMH
Link: http://www.smh.com.au/business/retail/farmers-fund-milk-about-to-hit-the-shelves-of-coles-supermarkets-in-victoria-20160906-gra3ld.html
 

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Así lo expresó Domingo Possetto, secretario de la seccional Rafaela, quien además, afirmó que a los productores «habitualmente los ignoran los gobiernos». Además, reconoció la labor de los empresarios de las firmas locales y aseguró que están «esperanzados» con la negociación entre SanCor y Adecoagro.

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