Fonterra's SupportCrew™ puts an extra $2 million into Farmers' bottom lines

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Almost eighteen months on from its launch, Fonterra Australia’s SupportCrewTM program has returned $2 million to the bottom lines of its farmer suppliers across Fonterra Australia’s supply base in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.

Boosting farm profitability is the key to growing Australia’ dairy industry, with Farm Business Management the major theme of this year’s Australian Dairy Conference, being held 16-18 February in Launceston.

Fonterra Australia’s SupportCrewTM is a team of experts who provide one-on-one expert advice in areas including Farm Finance, Nutrition and Agronomy, Human Resource Management, Sustainability, and Quality to help Fonterra suppliers improve the profitability of their farm so they can invest for growth.

Symon and Louise Jones can attest to the expert knowledge and advice provided by Fonterra SupportCrew™ specialists. Symon and Louise, dairy farmers from North West Tasmania, decided to take advantage of Fonterra’s fixed-base milk price after learning about it through Fonterra’s SupportCrew™ program.

With the guidance of their Fonterra Area Manager and SupportCrewTM specialist, Symon and Louise fixed part of their milk price at the beginning of the 2014/15 season to give them greater certainty about the day-to-day running costs of their farm.

“The information and support provided by our SupportCrew™ specialist gave us the confidence that we were making the right decision. Their knowledge and expertise about milk price and the various scenarios for our business really put us at ease and made making the decision really easy. The support they’ve provided has been invaluable.

“Since using SupportCrewTM, we’ve approached Fonterra about their GroPlan incentives to help grow our dairy business, because we’re confident in the assistance SupportCrew™ can provide if we need them. Knowing advice is just a phone call away helps us focus on running the farm.”

Fonterra Australia Director Operations & Ingredients Bruce Donnison says the experience of the Jones family is a great example of Fonterra’s commitment to helping its suppliers improve their farm profitability and grow their farm businesses.

“Our mission is to grow Australia’s dairy industry, and we can help achieve this through improving farm profitability and supporting suppliers who are investing for profitable growth. The SupportCrewTM program provides a valuable resource for suppliers so that they improve their bottom line and grow.”

For more information on the Fonterra SupportCrewTM program call 1800 266 674.