Australian Dairy Farmers Bring Milk Onto the Blockchain

Australian dairy farmers have penned a deal with the Australian government that will see blockchain technology introduced into the daily supply chain, aimed at balancing the relationship between dairy processors and retailers.

The Australian dairy industry has recently presented a difficult landscape to Australian dairy farmers, who have struggled through both drought and bushfires. Decreasing margins have caused ongoing problems for Aussie farmers, who are facing an increasingly complex agriculture supply chain ecosystem,.

Over the last 30 years, the number of agricultural enterprises in Australia have dropped from over 15,000 to just 5,000 in 2020, with Australia’s share of the international dairy industry falling from 16 percent to just 6 percent.

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A new deal signed between the Australian Dairy Farmers industry group and the Australian government, however, may function as a means for Aussie dairy farmers to wrestle back control over their industry,

The new deal will see the Aus government work with the ADF to develop a real time payment platform linked to a blockchain-powdered supply chain information system, allowing farmers to sell milk based on distributed ledger technology.

Terry Richardson, the President of the ADF, noted the importance of supply chain provenance and the implications of blockchain technology in the Australian dairy industry earlier this month:

“The transparency of shared information using blockchain technology empowers our dairy farmers. Blockchain will reduce costs to compete more aggressively in local and global markets. It will also allow greater knowledge of what happens to a farmer’s milk once it leaves their farm, and will provide consumers with trusted information about where their milk comes from.”

Integrating blockchain in the Australian dairy supply chain allows farmers to leverage better transparency over dairy product provenance, providing consumers with the ability to discern between different brands and the implications of supporting small Australian agricultural businesses versus supermarket chains and large processors.