Country Valley

<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> <br>Australia,NSW,Picton,cheese,milk,cream,yoghurt,no added permeate,Marrickville Organic Markets,Eveleigh markets,EQ Markets,Capital Region Markets,Warwick Farm Markets,Award winning milk and yoghurt,Organic milk and cheese Country Valley Milk - the freshest air and the greenest grass makes the difference you can taste <br><a href = "aboutus.html" title="About Us">about us</a><br> <a href = "ourproducts.html" title="Our Products">our products</a><br> <a href = "highlights.html" title="Highlights Panel">highlights</a><br> <a href = "home.html" title="Home">home</a><br> <a href = "contactus.html" title="Contact Us">contact us</a><br> <a href = "themilkhouse.html" title="The Milk House">the milk house</a><br> <a href = "highlandorganics.html" title="Highland Organics">highland organics</a><br> <a href = "Milk.html" title="Milk">milk</a><br> <a href = "History.html" title="Fairley Family History">fairley family history</a><br> <a href = "Whydoitourselves.html" title="Why do it ourselves?">why do it ourselves?</a><br> <a href = "WhatsComing.html" title="What's Coming">what's coming</a><br> <a href = "WhereFrom.html" title="Where From">where from</a><br> <a href = "september2003.html" title="September 2003">september 2003</a><br> <a href = "october2003.html" title="October 2003">october 2003</a><br> <a href = "whatwedo.html" title="What we do">what we do</a><br> <a href = "november2003.html" title="November 2003">november 2003</a><br> <a href = "march2004.html" title="March 2004">march 2004</a><br> <a href = "ourstaff.html" title="Our Staff">our staff</a><br> <a href = "FAQS.html" title="FAQS">FAQS</a><br> <a href = "YoghurtCream.html" title="Yoghurt and Cream">yoghurt and cream</a><br> <a href = "products.html" title="Products">products</a><br> <a href = "certificates.html" title="Certificates">certificates</a><br> <a href = "abitaboutus.html" title="A bit about us">a bit about us</a><br> <a href = "highlandorganicstock.html" title="Stockists">stockists</a><br> <br>In July 2000 the Australian Federal government deregulated the Australian Dairy Industry.  This has resulted in massive changes across the board.  One of these outcomes has been a drop in the farmgate price to dairy farmers.  Where we once use to be paid an average of 36/37c per litre we will now be paid an average of 29c per litre.  That takes into account seasonal prices.  At this point in time we are actually being paid 27c per litre if you are on contract and 23c per litre if you aren't.  Combine this with one of the worse droughts that the eastern seaboard of Australia has ever experienced and you have a recipe for disaster. <BR><BR>The drought resulted in there being no on-farm pasture available for feed and most farmers having to buy it in.  Wheat at one stage tripled in price and in fact was being shipped in from Western Australia and overseas.  Most farming industries suffered similar sorts of impacts.  However, in the case of eggs, lamb, beef and flour (to name a few) these costs were sometimes passed on to the consumer.  In the case of milk this was not the case.  In fact the price to farmers has been steadily dropping.<BR><BR>For many dairy farmers this has meant that it is time to sell up and move on.  Usually their land is sold for housing blocks.  When this happens the entire local community changes.  Areas become more developed and less rural.  Country life starts to slowly disappear.<BR><BR>We did not want this to happen to us or to Wollondilly.  We had already sub-divided some of our precious farming land to pay for a generational family transfer.  Enough!  We felt it was time to take control.<BR><BR>For us this meant value adding to our raw milk product.  Why sell our milk for next to nothing to a big processer when we could bottle it ourselves and start making farming a viable way of life again?<BR><BR>And not just us.  If you support us and make Country Valley milk a success then we can start buying other local farmers' milk to bottle and pay them a better price too.  That way we can all ensure that Wollondilly keeps the rural way of life that you live here to enjoy.  If our farms go, so does the lifestyle.<BR><BR> </body>