Dairying in Queensland will be the focus of this week’s Queensland Country Life Food Heroes series being held in Beaudesert.
The campaign which is hosting a series of forums throughout the state is promoting the connection and relationship between the foods we consume and enjoy with the industries that produce them.
The forum has offered tremendous opportunities for different commodities to not only promote their industry, but highlight the issues confronting them as well.
The May 11 Beaudesert Dairy forum will be held at Mark and Colleen Platell’s farm. The day will provide an excellent opportunity for our sector to discuss and promote the issues affecting our industry to decision makers. Queensland Diaryfarmers’ Organisation (QDO) thank the Platell family, QCL and the Beaudesert Times for enabling this event to get off the ground.
The Platell farm was one of many on the Logan River that was devastated by major flooding from Cyclone Debbie in late March, so it is a credit to them for offering up their property despite the recent events.
Founder of Daughters of Dairy Farmers (DDF), Lisa Harrison will be speaking at the forum discussing the importance of bridging the gap between farmers and consumers. DDF is a wonderful example of how some in the dairy continue to use their absolute passion to highlight concerns confronting our industry.
Well known Gympie dairy farmer John Cochrane will be present to give his views on market conditions and opportunities going forward.
I will be representing QDO and providing industry wide perspective on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and Senate inquiries as well as highlighting what I see are the upcoming issues confronting our sector. I will also outline the inflationary effects that have hit the industry in the last 6 years.
QDO look forward to a constructive forum that will highlight both the positive and negative factors at play within our sector. It will be a fantastic opportunity to have a candid and real discussion about the challenges and future direction for Queensland dairy. - Ross McInnes, QDO vice president