A heartfelt thank you from our family to yours

There may have been a few villains in the dairy disaster but a year on from the day Murray Goulburn made its infamous announcement, there are many more heroes.

Millions of them.

I remember my first trip to Melbourne after the story of our plight reached the city. A business acquaintance greeted me with: “Getting tricky buying a litre of milk these days, Marian.”. Lee had been to three shops before he could find branded milk.

Three shops. For a bottle of milk.

I remember my neighbours calling in to see if I really was alright after The Project went to air while I welled up with tears beside my husband. The tears spoke of the sense of despair, shock and downright frustration that being helpless in the face of careless callousness.

But not any more.

The sense of helplessness has passed, thanks to people like Lee and those, like Waleed Aly, who made our stories heard. Ordinary people took the extraordinary step of doing something Coles and Woolies never thought they would. They showed they cared with their wallets.

And that clear, genuine care drove action.

We farmers have been gifted something precious, a once in a lifetime chance to change things for the better. Thanks to all the ordinary people making an extraordinary statement with the simple, everyday purchase of milk, we have the attention of the nation’s watchdogs and the ear of its leaders. If we are clever enough, we can make sure this never happens again.

Now that’s something worth remembering on a day we’d otherwise rather forget. Thank you.