Australian farmers to vote on research funding

Dairy farmers in Australia are set to vote on how much they will pay to support Dairy Australia (DA), the industry research and marketing body.

The vote will determine whether the funding will be abolished, maintained at the current level or raised to 15 per cent.
DA has recently come under increasing financial pressure because of the impact of the drought and rising cost of research and development.
Pat Rowley, chairman of Dairy Australia, says it would show the level of investment farmers are willing to make to industry services such as research, trade policy, protection and promotion.
The vote will be taken at a time where the drought has created an expectation of a seven per cent fall in milk production. Rowley says in the midst of the devastating drought, it was important to balance the immediate against the long-term prospects: