Whether it was a jump for joy or a leap of faith, Barnaby Joyce's use of a shovel as a pogo stick made for one of the more interesting sod-turning events seen at Berry in recent times.
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Thankfully for the federal Agriculture Minister, the shovel landed in some fertile soil, perhaps symbolic of the mood surrounding the dairy industry after the recent signing of the China-Australia free trade agreement.
The ceremony marked the official start on the Berry Rural Co-operative's $2 million milk processing facility, which will produce dairy products for the co-op's South Coast Dairy brand.
The brand was born 10 years ago in uncertain times for the dairy industry and just as Dairy Farmers announced it would close its once thriving Bomaderry factory, costing the Shoalhaven 66 jobs.
At the time, the Berry farmers were still supplying the bulk of their milk to Dairy Farmers, but the co-op's 11 farmers decided to divert about 10 per cent of their output into their own South Coast brand, to be processed at Picton by dairy farmer John Fairley.
Today, the bulk of the co-op's 7 million litres of milk is sold to another co-operative, Murray Goulburn, but about 1.3 million litres goes into South Coast Dairy.
Co-op chairman Paul Timbs said having its own processing facility would allow the co-op to use even more of its own milk and expand on its current range, which is currently stocked in more than 150 locations from Wollongong to as far south as Merimbula.
Initial plans for the processing plant were drawn up four years ago, but the original design of the plant was substantially smaller than what was now being built, he said.
The plant will be able to process 18,000 litres of milk per day - four times South Coast Dairy's current requirements.
"So there is the capacity for the plant to increase its operations," Mr Timbs said.
"We are already in discussions for contract processing and bottling with a number of interested parties.
"The opportunities for growth are endless."
The co-op hopes to have the facility running in June next year, creating seven new jobs and supporting others.
Mr Joyce said he was following the progress of the facility.
"People won't mind paying 30¢ to 40¢ a litre more for their milk if they know it is going back into supporting jobs and the farmers in their community," he said.
Joyce defends agreement
The dairy sector was declared one of the big winners when the China-Australia free trade agreement was signed earlier this month, but there was a mixed reaction among Illawarra and South Coast dairy farmers.
There were concerns about China buying into the Australian market and a belief there would be a minimal impact on Illawarra and South Coast dairy farmers because their milk was sold on the domestic market.
Speaking in Berry on Friday, Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said concerns about foreign ownership were fair.
‘‘I can understand that. After the sale of Cubbie Station, I was terribly concerned, too – I thought it was odd and no-one seemed to care,’’ he said.
‘‘People have every right to expect we would protect our farmland and when I bring this up in China, it is no surprise to them.’’
As for the agreement having no impact on the domestic market, he said the agreement put us in ‘‘the international market’’.
‘‘Farmers can say to [supermarkets] ‘if you want to pay that price that is fine, but I’m not supplying you as I have a better market in Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur or Seoul’.’’