The couple were told they had to pay back 25 per cent of the income they had been paid for that year within four weeks.
«The cows were coming in and the milk was flowing and it looked like we might be able to break even again. Then the rug was just pulled out from under us,» Ms Bateman said.
The couple who farm at Warrion in south-west Victoria put their fourth generation dairy farm on the market.
«We decided to throw our hands in the air and walk away,» Mr Ritchie said.
The farm was on the market for three months but Mr Ritchie said there were no takers.
Pushed to the brink
«We had no real bites at all and who would want to buy a farm in that time when the crisis was around?» he said.
The couple who had supplied to milk company Fonterra decided they wanted to change processors.
«We were desperate to find something because the milk company we were with, we were jack of them,» Mr Ritchie said.
«They never looked after us.»
Ms Bateman began calling other processors, but no one would take them.
«The constant theme we had when we were contacting other milk companies was ‘Have you thought about organics?'» she said.
«But we just wanted the quick fix and Luke wouldn’t have a bar of it.»
Converting to organics
Eventually, they came around to the idea and made the decision to convert.
«As soon as we were beginning our conversion into organics we became saleable,» Ms Bateman said.
The couple are now six months into a three year conversion and are looking forward to the time they can sell their milk at a premium.
«A lot of people will say they want to do their bit for the environment, but to be honest I just want better money,» Mr Ritchie said.
A renewed love of farming
It has been a tough road, and in the midst of the dairy crisis Tamara Bateman said she questioned why she continued to farm.
«It’s okay until something like that happens and you just question the value of what you do,» she said.
But a year later, Ms Bateman says the dairy crisis has helped reinvent the farm and business.
«We really looked at where the future of the industry was going,» she said.
«If you don’t move and evolve your business, you get stuck and stagnant and you lose interest in what you’re doing.»
And for Mr Ritchie it has renewed his love of farming.
«It’s definitely got me more enthusiastic now than what I was 12 months ago,» he said.
«Because you’re googling and trying new things it’s given me an interest to keep going.»
http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-10-24/organics-a-lifeline-for-dairy-farmers/9079158