Bega asks northern Queensland farmers to lift milk output

Bega Group is seeking a 20 to 30 per cent increase in deliveries from Atherton Tablelands dairy farms to its Malanda factory, aiming to replace some milk transported from Victoria.

The request drew support from dairy advocacy group eastAUsmilk, whose chief executive Eric Danzi said sustainable expansion would also need better payments. He said a production increase of 20 per cent would probably require a price rise of at least 10 cents a litre.

Mr Danzi proposed starting by restoring a diesel levy of 5 cents a litre that had been withdrawn.

Bega chief executive Pete Findlay said the Tablelands supplied about 30 million litres annually. Seasonal interruptions could mean bringing another 1 million to 2 million litres from Victoria each year to maintain operations. He said Bega had substantially lifted farmer payments over four years and introduced incentives for production.

Tablelands farmer James Geraghty said additional farmers would be necessary to reach the target, though Bega's request could bolster confidence among younger producers. Fellow farmer Tom O'Connor said he was working with Malanda's Dairy Pathways group to encourage investment in local properties and help young people start dairying.

Separately, Bega said it was building cold storage in Cairns with capacity for about 50 per cent more milk than its existing Malanda site. Mr Findlay said a lack of storage had occasionally meant sending northern Queensland milk to Brisbane, and he hoped the new facility would help address that.