OPPORTUNITIES IN THE AUSTRALIAN DAIRY INDUSTRY
The Australian Dairy Industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the rural community. Nearly 11 billion litres of milk were produced in 1999/2000 with a farm gate value of over $3 billion. This milk is converted into products valued at $8 billion at the factory gate. Exports of dairy products are growing and in 1999/2000, exports were worth over $2.3 billion. This makes Australia the third largest exporter of dairy products across the world. Japan and South East Asia are the major importing countries.

On the farm, production has increased at 7% pa over the past 10 years due to a combination of :

• improved genetic material of animals
• increased number of cows in herds and
• increased efficiencies with feeding through improved pasture management and the use of supplementary feeding regimes where profitable

Dairy farm owners and managers in 2001 need to balance many issues such as sustainability, quality assurance, animal wellbeing and resource management with the production of milk.

On the manufacturing side of the industry, capital investment of $2 billion in new factories and equipment has occurred since 1995. High volume, automated equipment and specifically designed products require staff comfortable with automated control, specialised technology and a strong customer focus.

Opportunities on and around the farm:

Across Australia, it estimated about 40,000 employment positions are created by the farm and allied service sector. As the average herd size increases, there will be opportunity for jobs on the farm and in companies servicing the farms.

Quality skilled employees are being sought by the dairy industry. On the farm side, salary packages vary but there are opportunities for farmhands to earn about $30,000 while herd managers or farm managers can expect to earn between $45,000 to $60,000. Some people progress to become sharefarmers where they receive an agreed proportion of the income in return for agreed inputs such as labour, cows. This provides young people with a means of increasing their farm related assets.

Opportunities around the manufacturing and exporting sectors:

With companies, there are many opportunities for employment from collection of the milk, processing, support services such as maintenance and laboratory, research and development, marketing and administration. Entry points are many and varied.

Graduate recruitment programs for selected disciplines are offered by some organizations while many positions require inhouse company training to complement the person's previous experience.

Training:

At farm and factory levels, the dairy industry has developed training packages that create flexible careers paths. These training packages complement the degree and diploma programs offered in educational institutions. For further information on career opportunities, please contact

Rural Training Council of Australia
www.rtca.com.au

National Food Industry Training Council
www.nfitc.com.au