VFF head fires back, saying her aim is to start a levy 'conversation'

In October last year, Ms Germano wrote to Australian Dairy Farmers saying the VFF would no longer pay what she said were "exorbitant" annual fees.

"We wish to open immediate discussions in relation to the above and request that the ADF provide the VFF with a sustainable funding model that must include solutions and reforms that are under, or may be required, for consideration," she said in the email.

Currently, the VFF pays $360,000 in affiliation fees to the ADF; Victorian dairy farmers have urged both groups to sort out the disagreement.

Ms Germano said the email was intended to start a conversation about the effectiveness of advocacy and what was an "archaic" levy structure.

She said the VFF never intended to withhold levies from the ADF.

"We have not withheld any money yet," she said.

"We received the last bill and were dismayed at the fact that despite requesting a nice conversation that hasn't happened.

"Let's just have a conversation about it - now its quite clear some people are not willing to have a conversation about some changes that might need to happen."

She said she wasn't claiming the VFF had it right.

"It's precisely because I think the VFF has it wrong and we are madly trying to change that - change does take time and consideration," she said.

"We are just asking farmers for more and more money all the time but we have not become more efficient - not us, or any other organisation".

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Ms Germano said there had to be a better way and she wasn't afraid to raise the issue.

"What really strikes me is how much fear enters into the conversation when all someone says 'we should talk about whether or not this is the best way to do it'," she said.

It had been accepted that commodities represented by the VFF did not have "separate pots" [of money].

"That's not efficient, you can't divide the pie into that many pieces and still be efficient," she said.

There was no such thing as everyone having their own "turf".

She said the primary purpose of the VFF was to advocate for all Victorian farmers on issues they had - such as roads, rates, workforce issues, biosecurity and climate issues.

"That is our number one remit and we have been told that by our members - I am not going to apologise for asking questions as to do we need to look at how things are funded, in order to put resources where farmers have asked us to," she said.

She said less than a quarter of Victoria's dairy farmers were members of the United Dairyfarmers of Victoria/VFF.

"Number one, meaningful conversation happens around the table, not through the media," she said.

"Number two the UDV/VFF doesn't think its reasonable that while we go out collecting levies from dairy farmers that we pay them based on 100 per cent of the dairy farmers in Victoria, many of whom are not members of ours".

She said the VFF had all the risk of collecting the fees and staffing.

"We have simply said there has got to be a better way and I was very clear it was not just about ADF, but we have to have a conversation about this pyramid scheme that's set up for farmers in Australia in order for advocacy to happen, which is unnecessary.

"I have questioned the value of the VFF membership fee, because we should be having the conversations as to how do we do the most effective job, without asking farmers to continually put their hands in their pockets".

"We are looking at a model that has been presented to all the commodity councils, that shows a change in our fee structure - it is a reason why large farmers are not members of the advocacy chain.

"Because for them to be a member of the UDV/VFF in some cases would cost them $20,000-$30,000 a year - of course they are not going to pay that".

On average, dairy farmers paid $1100 a year, but for some it was as little at $300 and for others it was up to $16,000.

"This is a conversation the dairy industry has been having for the last 10 years, I did this at the behest of the UDV - I didn't make it up myself," she said.

"How surprising? Everyone ducked for cover and I am left holding the baby of 'we don't want to pay the bill any more.

"You know what, I am not going to make any apologies for saying we need to be more efficient with farmers' money and we need to be more accountable and transparent".

She said she was happy to respond to any farmer, who emailed her, about transparency and accountability.

"We don't think its right that dairy farmers pay more into the VFF than other growers, because everybody deserves to have commodity representation and national advocacy - there is no logical reason why some commodity groups pay a fraction of what we pay for the ADF.

"It's not just the ADF we are talking about, it's the efficiency of all of them - if we really want to start carrying on there are two peak grain bodies in Australia.

"Why?"