Since 2001, 1 June has marked World Milk Day providing the perfect opportunity to celebrate our dairy industry and the incredible products they produce for us daily. World Milk Day is celebrated across the world and was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN (United Nations) to help people recognise the importance of milk as a global food and to raise awareness regarding the importance of the dairy industry.
Queensland has approximately 150,000 milking cows, with farms spread from far north to south east Queensland and the Darling Downs region. Dairy farmers continue to face many challenges and uncertainties including disparity in market bargaining power, price transparency issues, exposure to volatile global markets and of course, the impact of droughts and flooding.
The one constant in this uncertain operating environment is the quality and diversity of products that our dairy farmers produce. Most of us rely on these products as a staple of our diets, and luckily for us, they remain some of the world’s best.
Queensland’s dairy industry produced 299 million litres of milk during the 2021–22 year. We enjoy this milk in our morning coffee and on our breakfast cereal, as an afternoon treat in a milkshake and added to our mashed potato at night to add a little bit of extra creaminess. For children, a 250ml glass of milk alone can provide 48% of their dietary protein requirement, 9% of their needed calories as well as key micro-nutrients like calcium, magnesium, selenium, and B vitamins.
Reportedly, nine out of 10 of us aren’t meeting our recommended daily serves of milk, cheese and yoghurt, as per the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Consumer research shows that 97% per cent of Australians aren’t aware of how much dairy they need.
The incredible health benefits associated with dairy foods extend far beyond the calcium required for maintaining healthy bones and teeth. Consuming enough milk, yoghurt and cheese in our diets can also be good for heart health, blood pressure and maintaining a healthy weight, with dairy providing an important source of protein. The fact these products taste delicious is an added bonus.
Choosing Australian dairy products ticks the health box for our families and is also good for regional jobs and our communities. With such a variety of milk and other dairy products available on supermarket shelves, it can be confusing for consumers to know which to buy to support Australian dairy farmers.
On World Milk Day, I encourage you to proactively seek out Queensland and Australian dairy products each week when you are shopping for yourself and your family. If supporting local and maintaining good health matters to you, make sure you buy local dairy. Dairy is an important part of Queensland’s agricultural history. Let’s make sure it has an important place in our future, and that our children and their children can enjoy locally made dairy foods just like we have.