Finniss MP David Basham has paid tribute to the dairy industry, globally and locally, while celebrating World Milk Day.

A former dairy farmer, Mr Basham praised the dairy industry for its vital role in agriculture, diet, technology and in advancing the economy of rural communities worldwide during a motion to the House of Assembly in Parliament last week.

“Dairy is the third largest rural industry in Australia. It produces 8.376 billion litres, worth about $6.2 billion. There are just under 4,000 dairy farmers nationally, 1.3 million cows and the industry across the country employs over 31,000 people.”

Mr Basham also highlighted the export power of Australia’s dairy industry with over 257,000 tonnes of dairy products going to China and Japan each year, and South Australia contributing a significant amount of that. 

“We have a wonderful dairy industry here and bat above our weight in cow production. In South Australia, we have gone from just under 3,200 litres per cow per year to what is now the highest in the country of nearly 7,400 litres per cow annually. South Australia has very much taken the lead in being able to get efficiency from cows and turning feed into large volumes of milk.” 

Mr Basham said technological advancements have had a particular impact on the local industry where dairy farmers can now collect huge amounts of data to monitor and manage milk yields and assess the health of their cows.

“I think one of the most exciting things that we are seeing in the industry is the adoption of robotics into dairy farming. I had the privilege of recently opening a new robotic dairy in Mount Compass, owned by the Jacobs and Hicks families. Many other farms in South Australia, and throughout the world, are heading in this direction.”

Several members spoke to the World Milk Day motion in State Parliament, including Treasurer, the Hon. Stephen Mullighan MP who thanked Mr Basham for bringing the motion to the House of Assembly and for his ongoing strong support of the dairy industry.

“I want to put on record my personal thanks, as well as the government’s appreciation for the advocacy and the effort that the member for Finniss has put in to raise the government’s attention to dairy farmers issues.”