One of New Zealand's most respected dairy figures, John Luxton, a large scale dairy farmer and former NZ Agriculture Minister, has told the World Dairy Leaders' Conference in Queensland that high productivity is the key to success.
Mr Luxton, who is a partner in a number of dairy business on farms in the Waikato region of NZ, says that Australian farms face significant challenges from low cost overseas producers, environmental pressures and a diminishing influence over politicians.
And he says that a focus on what farmers have the best chance of controlling, the job they actually do on their own properties, is likely to provide the greatest dividends.
"Farm systems have the largest potential to increase productivity and they have brought about significant increases over recent times. Milking parlour design and layout, grazing management and how the various inputs combine, are keys to productivity improvement. There are also large variations between the top farmers' productivity and those further down the scale," he said.
"Imagine what would happen if every farmer was as productive as the best."
Mr Luxton told the 120 delegates at the conference, at Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast, that it's increasingly important to be able to be proactive when it comes to dealing with pressure groups and animal welfare organisations which could damage the industry.
"Governments still acknowledge that in both New Zealand and Australia our dairy industries are significant employers and export industries.
"We need to reinforce that when some of the more fringe lobby groups get their ear on regular occasions.
"I think there is a mutual fear that NZ and Australia will miss out by choosing to remain GM free as other countries embrace biotechnology.
"I think we have gone through a short phase where this GM phobia happened in Europe and Japan. But I do think the companies selling into those markets obviously have to be wary of the market concerns."
However he says that the existing opposition to the use of GM feeds is likely to be overcome in the not too distant future as has happened in the Japanese animal feed sector and the licensing of some GM sourced foods by the Europeans.
