United Dairyfarmers of Victoria acknowledges the end of the tender process for the Commodity Milk Price Index, representing a step towards another resource for dairy farmers.
Victoria’s peak dairy group supports the development of resources to assist dairy farmers understand and interpret price signals.
Webber Quantitative Consulting Pty Ltd was last week announced as the successful bidder of the government tender and will now commence building an Australian dairy industry Index.
“We will need to see more detail around the proposal, and until Webber Quantitative has met with industry, we can’t dispense judgment,” said UDV President Adam Jenkins.
“The Commodity Milk Price Index is intended to be one tool amongst a range of data sources that will help farmers better forecast and plan for the future.”
“It will sit alongside the Code of Practice and the Effects Test and, when used with other reforms such as the Unfair Contract Terms Law for Small Business, is hoped to improve transparency and share risk along the supply chain.”
The Commodity Milk Price Index was unveiled last May by then Federal Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce, with an allocation of $2 million to initiate the program.
The Index will put Australia in line with the rest of the world and give dairy farmers a benchmark to assess the price being offered by processors, and trends in global and domestic markets.
Mr Jenkins said this will allow farmers to make better informed judgement on whether the price offered by their processor is fair and competitive whilst providing earlier and clearer pricing signals.
“Industry were firm in advising that the tools and models developed need to be accessible, easy to use, and have enough information to be of value,” he said.
“As an industry, we need to build resilience, rather than leave farmers vulnerable. The Index has the potential to be a useful resource to farmers.”