ADIC chairman and Australian Dairy Farmers president Terry Richardson said providing a safe work environment for all workers in the dairy supply chain remained a priority for the dairy industry.
He said in the current challenging times, dairy manufacturers and farmers together with others in the supply chain have been working to keep milk flowing and on shelves without risking the health of dairy people.
A whole of industry working group has been collaborating to manage issues related to COVID-19 and is comprised of representatives from ADF, Australian Dairy Products Federation and Dairy Australia.
Mr Richardson said that as containment measures around Australia continued to escalate, governments have acknowledged that food and agriculture businesses, including dairy and all supply components, were essential services and implementing measures to keep supply chains operating.
Some examples include:
How to milk cows while maintaining social distancing;
How to manage staff coming on and off farm;
How to address supply issues that may disrupt operations for farms and factories;
Protocols for managing milk collection; and
Questions consumers may have regarding the safety of dairy operations.
To see the growing library of resources, visit the industry’s Dairy Industry COVID-19 Directory pages online.
The ADIC has also written to all federal and state agriculture and health ministers for their support to ensure dairy operations across Australia remain open during escalating restrictions.
And the council is working with the National Farmers’ Federation and other organisations to ensure that all agriculture and food production is protected as an essential service.
