Milk drinkers should be willing to pay extra 10-15¢ per litre to support WA farmers, Harvey local says

A passionate dairy industry advocate has warned a lack of willingness by consumers to pay extra for their milk could see WA run out of supply in the next decade as the cost to meet carbon neutral targets becomes “too much of an impost” on farmers. It comes as the industry faces increasing pressure to implement practices to reduce emissions and achieve carbon neutrality, while milk prices remain the same. Harvey local Dean Maughan — who grew up on a dairy farm in the region and has spent his career in the agricultural industry — said consumers needed to recognise the hard work and effort behind the milk they put in their coffees and cereal. He said they should be willing to fork out an extra 10 cents per litre to reimburse farmers for the extra work and cost meeting carbon neutral targets — driven by consumers — placed on them. Mr Maughan said the majority of consumers did not want to pay extra for their milk or coffee, which could lead to more farmers leaving the industry, which has already lost many farmers over the past couple of decades. “By that time... the retailers will be saying ‘lets put the price up and we’ll get the supply.’ “But it’ll be too late, because the passionate dairy farmers, they’ll be going off and living the lifestyle they deserve and there won’t be anyone with a spare $5-15 million to start up behind them. “So we’ll all have to get really excited about consuming UHT milk coming out of New Zealand or China or Vietnam or wherever it’s going to come from. “And think about the carbon footprint on that.”