DFV president Mark Billing said the reason for the formation of the group, which comprises defecting members from the long-standing United Dairyfarmers of Victoria, was due to the peak body not receiving resources commensurate with memberships paid to the VFF.
“I think that dairy feels in some ways that it was subsidising VFF to cover their debt,” Mr Billing told Dairy News.
“We’d much rather be able to have control over our own destiny, but we still want a strong part to play in supporting VFF, whether it be resources or even financial support.”
Ms Germano said that discussions were “still fresh” and that she had been speaking with Mr Billing in good faith.
“At the end of the day the VFF will always stand to represent dairy farmers,” she said.
“How that industry representation is best for moving forward is obviously something that we have to have communication about to forge that path.
“The other thing is that this is a conversation that has been brewing for some time, and I think it’s a positive thing that it’s coming to a head so that we can sit down and work out this simmering tension once and for all.”
Mr Billing said currently the UDV had no staff, whereas in 2017 it employed four people.
“The main issue for us is the amount of money that’s going into VFF from Victoria’s dairy farmers, which is around a million dollars, and the fact that we have no staff which are dedicated to the dairy commodity,” he said.
The new organisation will not be under the umbrella of the VFF (as the UDV is) and is modelled on the South Australian Dairyfarmers Association.
“The SADA model has worked well for the South Australian equivalent of the VFF,” Mr Billing said.
He said it was important to note that the 180 dairy farmers in SADA had been able to employ more than three staff.
“We’ve got about 3000 dairy farmers in Victoria, and we have no staff.
“So something has got to change because we need to get value for the money that Victorian farmers are putting into advocacy.
“Given that we’re 64 per cent of the national milk pool, Victoria is very important.”
Ms Germano said the issue of resourcing was something the VFF board had been looking into.
“You cannot fund an operation on debt and that’s what has been happening for the best part of a decade and so ultimately what we have got to work out is how to allocate resources where we get the most impact,” she said.
“It’s no longer about whose voice is loudest at the table, how much they pay to be sitting at that table.
“The Victorian farming industry has to be unified in its approach to advocacy and most importantly we need to listen to the farmers.
“We have asked the farmers and they have told us categorically that it doesn’t matter where they are in the state, what it is that they grow or how big their operation is, what the VFF has to advocate for is the same.
“And we’re talking rates; we’re talking right to farm; we’re talking fair supply chains, roads and infrastructure.
“It’s the reason that the VFF exists in the first instance.”
Mr Billing said although negotiations so far had “gone nowhere”, he was confident of an outcome.
“We’re just waiting for VFF to mull over what we have briefed them on, and we are planning to have another discussion with them shortly.”
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