Guy Barnett,Minister for Primary Industries and Water
Congratulations to all the winners of the Tasmanian Dairy Awards held last night.
Clear Springs Dairy at Meander, operated by Tim and Fiona Salter, was named as the 2019 Tasmanian Dairy Business of the Year.
Tasmanian’s dairy industry has rebounded strongly from difficulties in 2016 to set a new production record of over 910 million litres in 2017-18.
Growing our $325 million dairy industry – which supports approximately 1,400 jobs across 430 farms – is a key part of the Hodgman Liberal Government’s Plan to increase the farm gate value of agriculture to $10 billion by 2050.
As part of our support for the industry, we have committed $900,000 for a dairy extension ‘grow more, milk more and make more’ initiative, and the extended the Stock Underpass Program, which assists farmers to construct road underpasses to safely and efficiently move stock.
We understand that on farm energy costs are a significant factor for a profitable rural businesses, which is why we are committed to providing the lowest regulated electricity prices in the nation.
Our $750,000 to On-Farm Energy Audit and Capital Program is being used to provide grants of up to $20,000 for new energy efficient infrastructure and we have established a Farm Energy Advocate in Aurora Energy.
The Hodgman Liberal Government greatly values our dairy farmers, and the dairy industry which is synonymous with our Tassie Brand, and we will continue to work with them to ensure dairy has an even brighter future.
