A little while ago, I made a lame attempt at explaining how we are paid for our milk. In my defence, the co-op’s most recent supplier newsletter has published this:
“MGC milk price figures are current for the 2011/12 season for a Traditional Payment Option farm supplying 155,000 kg MS. MGC milk price figures include announced loyalty payments, Productivity Incentive (PI), 2.5 c/l volume charge, premium 1 incentive and seasonal incentives. MGC milk price figures exclude levies, GST, share take-off, share dividends, Growth Incentive (GI) and future loyalty payments.
The value of milk supplied in December and January is illustrated below”
| Dec 2011 | Jan 2012 | |||||||
| Fat% | Protein % | c/litre | $/kg MS | Fat% | Protein % | c/litre | $/kg MS | |
| High | 4.67 | 3.73 | 36.6 | 4.35 | 4.80 | 3.70 | 39.2 | 4.62 |
| Ave | 4.06 | 3.24 | 31.4 | 4.30 | 4.17 | 3.22 | 33.8 | 4.57 |
| Low | 3.65 | 2.92 | 27.9 | 4.24 | 3.75 | 2.90 | 30.0 | 4.51 |
Apologies for the formatting of the table (MG did a better job in its newsletter).
Now, bear in mind that all of the factors in the text above the table vary from farm to farm and that there are two other payment models. We have chosen the Domestic Incentive model, which is completely different again. OMG. If I sound evasive when you ask how much farmers are paid for our milk, now you know why.
The Milk Maid Marian 
Once I tried to decipher a dairy farm invoice. (Left in the milking stall by the milk truck driver.) I nearly went up the wall trying to make head or tail of it.
After that I happily went back to manure spreading or something.
When I asked the boss that night he had a go at explaining, but in the end couldn’t be bothered opening up the encyclopaedia (or whatever it was) to brush up on the topic himself, before he had a go at explaining to how milk payments work!
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