The Australian dairy industry is taking a massive hit as the bush fires rage on.
This may offer a chance for American dairy farmers to help meet the need in other parts of the world. One of those farmers is third-generation dairy farmer Marty Costello, who has 130 cows out on his Long Grove property.
Milk prices have fallen nearly 40% over the past five years. Dairy farmers say this is because of a combination of rising power costs and sweeping tariffs that have put the industry into crisis mode.
A growing need from the rest of the world, however, may turn Marty’s slump around.
Nearly 9,000 miles away, the Australian bush fires are piling on more pain for the country’s dairy industry. Australia is China and Japan’s biggest milk supplier, and with Australia being unable to fill the need, Asia is left screaming for milk.
In mid-January, President Donald Trump signed a trade deal with Chinese leaders. In that agreement, China has promised to buy an additional US agricultural products.
With “Phase One” of that deal now in place, American dairy farmers can export more milk to Asia.
All of Marty’s milk goes to Prairie Farms, but with the conditions in Australia worsening and the potential for the fires to continue, some of his milk could be exported to Asia.
In 2019, America exported just over 99 million tons of milk.
The Department of Agriculture expects that number to jump by 2% in 2020.
Source: wqad.com
