Northern Victorian dairy farms and factories have been hit for a six in what should have been a profitable spring.
Some farms were forced to dump milk when floodwater from heavy rains upstream cut off access by milk tankers in October.
The Tatura Milk Industries (Bega Cheese) factory in Tatura lost power on the weekend of October 15 and 16 when the Mooroopna sub-station was affected by floodwater and, although some power was restored by Powercor, on Thursday, October 20 it was still running on only 60 per cent of its normal load requirements.
The company had to stop taking in fresh milk deliveries, and asked for other companies to collect and process its milk in a co-operative arrangement.
October 20 was the first day Tatura Milk could resume taking in milk from its own suppliers.
By that date most of its suppliers’ milk could be collected but one remained cut off due to flooded roads.
Bega Cheese nutritionals and ingredients executive general manager Hamish Reid said the major challenge was getting staff into the factory.
A major impediment was the closure of the causeway between Shepparton and Mooroopna, which prevented staff getting from Shepparton to Tatura.
Although emergency vehicles and milk tankers were being permitted through it wasn’t clear what the rules were for access.
The Tatura factory produces cream cheese, infant formula and commodity powders for export.
Noumi CEO Michael Perich said while farmers were faced with flooded properties and some were running generators for power, their suppliers were not the most severely affected.
“Access has been difficult, but we are working with freight companies on getting milk into the [Shepparton] site,” he said.
“Some were cut off on the weekend [October 15 and 16]. Some have had to dump their milk.”
Mr Perich said while the company was supporting its farmers, now the company was seeking support from government.
On this point, Mr Perich met with Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell on October 19.
About two thirds of Noumi’s staff could not get to work at the Shepparton factory at the height of the floods.
Production had been scaled down because of staff shortages and reduced milk supply.
Fonterra (which has a factory at Stanhope), Noumi and Bega all said they would support their suppliers by paying them for the milk that couldn’t be collected.
Dairy farms in the region had just finished one of the most profitable years for a long time and were shaping up for a successful year, despite rising input costs including energy.
Fonterra, Bega and Noumi said their factory production had been reduced because some staff could not get to work and they all spoke about the importance of getting damaged road infrastructure fixed.
Fonterra’s Farm Source director Matt Watt said thankfully all their people and farmers were safe.
“We have had no reports of loss of livestock or significant damage to farms, and our Stanhope site remains operational,” Mr Watt said.
“The main issues faced by our farmers are power outages and damaged feed, although the vast majority have been able to continue milking despite the tough conditions.
“Our Farm Source team is providing all the support they can to farmers, even when their own properties have been impacted or are at risk.
“Road closures continue to be a challenge, although we are coming up with innovative ways to navigate any issues so that we can get to every farm.”
On October 20, Mr Watt said all farms were now being collected and minimal milk had been disposed of.
“Around a quarter of our Stanhope team is unable to get to the site due to either road closures, protecting their own properties, or lack of fuel,” he said.
“We are managing through staffing issues by switching our product mix across cheese varieties, depending on the line operators we have available to work.
“We’re looking at different ways we can support impacted communities, which will become clearer once the situation eases and the clean-up begins.
“So far, we have delivered 2000 empty milk powder bags for Echuca residents to use to make sandbags.”