Back to the future - when the last dairy co-operative is gone

摘要

Farmers have always looked to the co-operative model to provide them with some protection and balance in free market economies. The Australian dairy industry was at one time virtually dominated by co-operatives and co-operative companies, yet the industry is now facing the distinct possibility of Murray Goulburn Co-operative Company being the last major Australian farmer-owned milk processor. How has it come to this and does it really matter? Graeme Charles, director of the Co-operative Federation of Victoria, explores the issue.