About

WestVic Dairy

Western Victoria

There are roughly 1,128 dairy farms in western Victoria and the industry employs a further 6,600 people via the processing sector. In 2021/22, western Victoria produced about 1,928 million litres of milk. This represents approximately 23% of national milk production.

The western Victorian dairy region extends west from Geelong towards the South Australian border, with a large share of farms concentrated around the coastal areas between Simpson and Koroit.

What is WestVic Dairy?

WestVic Dairy is a regional team set up by Dairy Australia in the 1990s to deliver dairy extension activities and programs. . Local farmers and service providers make up the board, and an executive officer manages day-to-day operations.

WestVic Dairy works to its strategic priorities of:

• Supporting profitable dairy farms
• Building capable industry people
• Encouraging two-way communication and engagement
• Promoting a trusted and valuable industry

WestVic Dairy's vision for our region is:

"A profitable, positive and valuable dairy industry in western Victoria."

WestVic Dairy's work is to help advance the dairy industry in our region by delivering on its mission:

"With effective engagement, we will build confidence in our industry by enabling farmers to operate responsible and progressive businesses through quality research, development and extension."

This mission is delivered through extension planning, coordination and delivery that benefit western Victorian farmers. By focusing on promoting best practice procedures, new ideas in dairy and technology, dairy farmers are better equipped to manage their farm businesses in a quickly changing climatic and economic environment.

The WestVic Dairy Board of Directors is comprised of elected members – a majority of local farmers, as well as industry service providers.

The WestVic Dairy staff are a team of professionals in extension, drawn from across the region, with extensive knowledge and experience in dairy farming.

"WestVic Dairy is a valuable investment of farmer levy. It provides regionally specific R&D, and information delivered is relevant and timely."
- Lachie Sutherland, dairy farmer, Larpent

Who pays for it?

Dairy Australia’s annual investment in all regional teams is determined by each region’s milk production. WestVic Dairy works to leverage additional funds from Natural Resource Management (NRM) bodies, state government and other interested investors in order to ensure farmer priorities are met, faster.

Key projects

Dairy Awards

Now running for 13 years, this project recognises high achievers in the local dairy region. It is now a biennial event with a gala night showcasing the region’s top performers.

Benefit: The event rewards the region’s high achievers and demonstrates the benefits of striving for performance. It contributes to an enhanced industry reputation.

Careers, Employment and Skills

A three-year project that aims to attract more skilled people to dairy through new and better coordination in the region. It focuses on linking to the education and training sector to promote awareness of career opportunities throughout the dairy supply chain.

Benefit: More highly skilled, committed people in the industry.