DEVELOPMENTS FOR MARKETS IN DAIRY PRODUCTION

For the last hundred years the Dairy Industry has been one of the three principal animal industries in Australia. In the mid-seventies it experienced a very traumatic shock, with returns from both milk products and cull animals falling to levels well below those needed to support an industry which could provide a standard of living and a return to investment comparable with other sections of the economy. But what is its future for the next decade? There is no doubt that the Australian Dairy Industry is capable of producing dairy products more efficiently, either on a labour or land area basis, than the dairy industries in most other countries. At least from Australia's point of view it is unfortunate that international trade in dairy products is influenced more by politics than by considerations of efficiency. In the series of papers to follow we will discuss the prospects for our Dairy Industry in the 80's. This will be considered in the light of anticipated developments in four areas:- International and local marketing in the Dairy Industry- The economic situation on the farm- Ongoing technological developments, as they affect on-farm dairy production- The dairy farmer's likely reaction to the changing situation If, in our discussions, we have tended to concentrate on the Victorian situation, it is not because we consider dairy production in the other States to be unimportant, but rather that we are presenting a picture of the future o