WAFarmers plans to milk Instagram in celebration of World Milk Day

WAFarmers Dairy Section will launch a new Instagram page this week in celebration of international World Milk Day on Thursday, June 1.

The page will be used to highlight the local industry’s role in supplying consumers with fresh milk year round, as well as promoting the nutritional benefits of cows’ milk.

WAFarmers Dairy Section president Ian Noakes said connecting with people on social media was a good way to lift the industry’s profile and clarify its animal welfare and environmental credentials.

“We’ll be doing some positive publicity, sharing farming stories, photos and videos of farming scenes,” Mr Noakes said.

“So far we’ve also put a story up of how many people are employed in WA and some industry statistics.

“I’m not one for social media but even I have signed up as well.”

Mr Noakes said there was so much misinformation in the social media realm that WAFarmers had to step in to join the conversation.

“There’s been so much said that is anti milk and animal farming,” he said.

“We need to show that we are doing things well, we care about animals and the environment.

“There’s so much untruth about what farmers are doing — or products claiming to be environmentally friendly — when it’s not based on facts.”

Local farmers and consumers have been encouraged to “jump on” Instagram @wafarmersdairy.

World Milk Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in 2001 as a way to recognise the importance of milk as a global food, and to celebrate the dairy sector.

Each year since, the benefits of milk and dairy products have been actively promoted around the world, including how dairy supports the livelihoods of one billion people across the globe.

This year’s World Milk Day will focus on showcasing how dairy is reducing its environmental footprint, while also providing nutritious foods and supporting livelihoods.

According to the WA Dairy Industry Snapshot, the local industry employs 1200 people across 116 farms, which produce 344 million litres of milk (2021-2022).

While the local industry’s production has been in decline since 2016 and currently produces only four per cent of Australian production, it contributes $187 million to the State’s economy.

The average size of a dairy herd in WA is 431 cows, while the State’s dairy herd is about 50,000 cows.