ODFA chief executive Jeff Cole said it was prudent they take a conservative approach upon opening.
“We are however, forecasting to pay in excess of $9.00 per kilogram of milk solids by financial year-end,” Mr Cole said.
“We will carefully monitor the organic market over the coming six months, before signalling any changes.”
It compares to Australian Consolidated Milk which announced last month its opening price for organic milk would be $9/kg MS for 2019-20, while Bega announced it would pay $6.75/kg MS.
Meanwhile, the construction of a new dedicated organic spray dryer, adjacent to ODFA’s processing facility in North Geelong is now well under way. The new specialty powder processor — Corio Bay Dairy Group (CBDG) — expects to commission its facility early in 2020 and ODFA members will then realise the increased value from their organic milk supply.
An exclusive supply agreement with CBDG, will see ODFA scale up its organic milk supply to CBDG from 14 million to 46 million litres over the next three seasons.