The Australian Dairy Plan aims to increase annual milk production by almost one billion litres, add $500 million of farm gate value and create several thousand new jobs.

It is the first time key organisations representing the whole dairy supply chain have worked together to develop a national strategic plan.

Independent Chair, John Brumby AO, said the industry is vital to the health of many regional economies, despite experiencing a number of challenging years.

“The Australian Dairy Plan demonstrates a collective commitment of industry organisations representing the whole supply chain to pull together to achieve better outcomes for everyone working in dairy and the communities which rely on the industry,” Mr Brumby said.

The plan has a strong focus on providing farmers with services and tools to achieve consistent profitability in an increasingly challenging operating environment.

There will be a roll-out of initiatives to attract new people and investment into the industry, to help farmers grow their businesses.

For processing companies, the plan lays out a program of activities that will help to rebuild milk supply. There’s a recognition of the need to rebuild trust with farmers and of the opportunities for the industry to collaborate in promoting itself.

In the past forty years, the number of dairy farms in Australia has declined from 22,000 to less than 6,000.

More than 500 dairy farmers left the industry last year including third generation Parawa farmer Casey Treloar.