The Western Australian Government has reaffirmed its support for the Western Australian Dairy Industry Five-Year Development Plan, which focuses on the sector’s future growth and sustainability.
Speaking at the WA Dairy Conference in Busselton, Agriculture and Food Minister Jackie Jarvis commended the continuous efforts of the State’s dairy farmers, who have earned an exceptional reputation as trustworthy and premium quality milk producers.
“The Cook Government supports the WA Dairy Industry Five Year Development Plan, sharing industry’s vision for the WA dairy sector to thrive, grow, diversify, be innovative and sustainable for the benefit of future generations,” Minister Jarvis said.
Minister Jarvis urged the industry to continue working on the dairy plan the WA Dairy Industry Working Group released last year.
“The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development is collaborating with Dairy Australia, Western Dairy and representatives of the WA Dairy Industry Working Group to support the success of the sector,” Minister Jarvis stated.
Profitability, supply chains, new markets, new products, succession planning, and the industry’s carbon impact are among the six primary development targets included in the plan.
“Growth of the industry has the potential to diversify our State’s dairy offering further and develop new markets, but there are challenges to overcome including decarbonisation and global biosecurity threats,” Minister Jarvis said.
The working group has engaged with dairy industry specialists Bluesee Consulting to implement the strategy over the next three months.
The WA dairy sector has roughly 116 dairy farms and contributed more than $187 million to the State’s economy in 2021-2022.
“It is now time to adapt, decrease risk, increase resilience and be disruption ready, to be positioned to capture new opportunities,” Minister Jarvis added.
