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Dairy Industry Figures ReleasedFarmers can now access valuable farm level data relating to productivity gains and profitability in the Dairy Industry Farm Monitor report published by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and Dairy Australia. By Department of Primary Industries - 19th September 2008 - Back to News This is the second year of the project which discusses the performance of 73 dairy businesses across the Gippsland, Northern Victoria, and the South West dairy regions.
One of the key aims of the report is to provide a comprehensive data set on the physical and financial performance of farm businesses for use by the farmers and services providers to the dairy industry.
The main findings for 2007-08:
- A strong financial performance across the state which reflected the strong world price for milk.
- The average profitability across the participant farms was $2.39 per kilogram of milk solids sold or $1,460 per hectare. This equated to an average return on assets (not including capital gains) across the state of 10 per cent, with a range of -6 per cent to 21 per cent.
- During the same period the All Ordinaries Price Index lost 15% on its opening value and superannuation funds saw losses of up to 15%.
- There continues to be a high use for imported feed particularly in the north of the State.
- The majority of participants expect there to be either no change or an improvement in farm business returns over the next 12 months.
- There is a high expectation that the cost of most inputs will rise, particularly fuel and oil and water availability and climate was identified major issues for the industry.
A free copy of the Dairy Industry Farm Monitor report can be downloaded from
www.dpi.vic.gov.au/dairyfarmmonitor
For more information, contact Will English at DPI Ellinbank on (03) 5624 2293.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com

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