MANNUM mixed farmer Glen Loffler says dairyfarmers have suffered enough.
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"People forget where milk and cheese come from and before long, we'll be importing it," he said.
"That's the stupid thing about it."
Glen has seen nearly all the area's dairyfarmers disappear as a result of water restrictions during the last decade of drought and, in more recent years, the poor price they were paid for milk.
"I think supermarkets are chiefly to blame. They put their prices down and in turn drive the prices down from the supplier and the only way the supplier can recover is to drive it down for the poor old farmer," he said.
"The farmer always seems to be a price-taker rather than a price maker.
"People will wonder in a few year's time when there're no dairies around, because they'll suddenly have to pay more for milk that's imported."
Glen owns about 647 hectares with his wife Bronwyn, on which he crops and runs sheep and feedlot calves.
He says the recent focus on the livestock trade by the RSPCA and animal activists often "barks up the wrong tree", especially in regard to stockyards.
"As producers, we're always trying to do the right thing," he said.
"I know they're starting to kick-up about the saleyards and so forth, but either way, I still believe the producer will try and do the best thing for livestock."
*Full report in Stock Journal, March 21 issue, 2013.
