Milk Marketing (NSW)

Objectives, ownership and financial control

Milk Marketing (NSW) Pty Limited was incorporated in June 1989 as a proprietary company to promote and encourage the production, supply, use, sale and consumption of milk and dairy products. Initially, the shareholding resided with the Minister for Agriculture.

Ownership and control of the company was transferred to New South Wales Dairy Corporation on 20 December 1996. Assets and liabilities of the company were transferred from the New South Wales Dairy Corporation to Safe Food Production NSW on 1 July 1999 following the dissolution of the Dairy Corporation. With industry deregulation and the consequent loss of its income stream, Milk Marketing (NSW) terminated its marketing program at 30 June 2000. On 4 July 2000, the Minister for Agriculture approved the retention of the company and its surplus funds for the benefit of the New South Wales dairy industry.

Assets and liabilities of the company were transferred to the NSW Food Authority on 5 April 2004 when the Authority absorbed the functions of Safe Food Production NSW. The board has resolved that the company's funds be applied in the event of an industry emergency, and for the general purposes of facilitating information exchange, managing emerging issues, and promoting the interests of the NSW dairy industry.

Milk Marketing (NSW) Pty Ltd presently has no employees.

Financial statements

top

Board of Directors

The current board of Milk Marketing (NSW) Pty Limited as appointed by the Minister for Agriculture comprises Mr George Davey (Chair), Mr Bob Grey (Director) and Mr Peter Sutherland (Director).

Both board members have been recognised for their outstanding service to the Australian dairy industry by being awarded the Dairy Industry Association of Australia’s highest honour, the John Bryant Gold Medal.

George Davey, Chairman of Milk Marketing (NSW) and Director-General of the NSW Department of Primary Industries received the John Bryant Gold Medal in 2005 in recognition of his contributions to the Australian dairy industry through his leadership of the Conference of Australian Milk Authorities, Milk Marketing (NSW), the NSW Dairy Corporation and the Dairy Industry Association of Australia. He was also acknowledged for his significant and long standing contributions on behalf of the Australian dairy industry to the work of the International Dairy Federation, especially in the fields of economics and policy, health and nutrition and marketing and communications. George Davey has also recently been elected as Chairman of the International Dairy Federation Standing Committee on Marketing at the 2007 International Dairy Federation (IDF) World Dairy Summit held in Dublin, Ireland in October 2007.

Bob Grey, current Director of Milk Marketing (NSW) and former Executive Officer of the Amalgamated Milk Vendors Association and member of the NSW Dairy Industry Conference, received the John Bryant Gold Medal in 2007 in recognition of his longstanding leadership role in policy development and advocacy for the NSW dairy industry, particularly in relation to representing milk vendor issues and in the complex and difficult process of planning for and managing deregulation of the industry. His work in assisting the promotion and development of the NSW milk industry through his involvement with Milk Marketing NSW was also acknowledged.

Peter Sutherland is currently the Director, Industry Liaison & Business Services for the NSW Food Authority. Peter has been with this organisation since its inception in 2004 and its predecessor organisations, SafeFood NSW and the NSW Dairy Corporation since 1985. The NSW Food Authority is a state government through-chain food safety agency responsible for food regulation in the state.

Peter has 25 years experience as a food microbiologist in the food industry in food production and processing operations. He has extensive experience within the dairy, meat/poultry and shellfish industries and more general experience in secondary manufacture (eg; sauces, condiments, dried powder products, coffee, catering and foodservice and food retail), market produce preparation, as well as experience in food service and catering. In this period Peter has also been involved in food safety regulation, investigation of foodborne illness, epidemiology and food and hygiene contamination troubleshooting. He has 20 years experience in the development and implementation of effective HACCP based food safety systems across a wide variety of food categories from rural industries through food manufacture/processing to food service for immediate consumption.

Peter is acknowledged as an expert on the microorganism Listeria monocytogenes. He represents the Australian dairy industry at the International Dairy Federation, and has written chapters for textbooks, including the “Green Book” (Foodborne Microorganisms of Public Health Significance) on Listeria and Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis and presented papers both nationally and internationally. He has represented Australia in international delegations to the United States, Europe, South Africa, New Zealand and recently China.

Peter has been active in various professional and industry associations. He is a past Chair of the AIFST NSW Food Microbiology Group, Past President of the Dairy Industry Association of Australia (NSW Division), a member of Standards Australia Food Standards group, a NATA laboratory assessor, food safety standards development committees, International Dairy Federation representative and member of the International Association for Food Protection.

top

Chair Receives National Dairy Award

The Chairman of Milk Marketing (NSW) was recently made a life member of the Dairy Industry Association of Australia in recognition of outstanding service to the national industry. Mr Davey received this prestigious award at the annual dairy conference of the DIAA held in Sydney in June 2009. The citation for Mr Davey read:

"Mr Davey’s contribution to the DIAA since he joined its predecessor organisation, the Australian Society for Dairy Technology, has been wide-reaching and significant. This contribution was recognised by the DIAA in 2001 when he was awarded the JI Scarr Medallion for services to the DIAA.

"A member since 1984, George has held the following executive rolls at both a divisional and federal level:

Member, NSW Council, 1984 to 2007,
- Treasurer 1984 to 1991
- President, 1992 to 1994
Member, Federal Council, 1985 to 2002
- Junior Vice President 1997
- Vice President 1998
- Federal President 1999

"It was while George served as the Federal President in 1999 that the DIAA established the national office and appointed an Executive Officer.

"George has also shared his significant knowledge and experience to the DIAA membership through presentations and publications and has worked hard to support the organisation and develop younger members.

"The NSW Division of the DIAA has benefited enormously from Georges involvement and leadership over many years and is proud to nominate George Davey for Life Membership of the DIAA."

top

Marketing activities

Milk Marketing (NSW) successfully promoted milk and was responsible for creating and developing brands such as Shape, Moove and Light White. At the same time it provided information and education on healthy eating and the role milk plays in a balanced diet.

Milk Marketing (NSW) has been a member of the Conference of Australian Milk Authorities (CAMA) and contributed to the development and NSW implementation of a number of highly successful national generic advertising campaigns for milk. Several of these campaigns received national and international acclaim for marketing excellence winning awards including a Gold Lion at the Cannes Advertising Festival, two awards at the New York Advertising Festival, and best of category at the Australian Television Awards.

Milk Marketing (NSW) was funded by a margin in the regulated price structure of milk.

For more details see Making the most out of milk, the history of Milk Marketing (NSW) Pty Limited July 1989 to June 2000

Part 1: introduction (pp 1-16) (pdf, 2.38MB)
Part 2: brand specific marketing activities (pp 17-66) (pdf, 7.7MB)
Part 3: general marketing activities (pp 67-160) (pdf, 8.01MB)

top

Relationship with International Dairy Federation

Milk Marketing (NSW) and the NSW Food Authority and its predecessor organisations, have had a long and productive relationship with the International Dairy Federation (IDF).

The IDF is the pre-eminent source of scientific and technical expertise for all stakeholders of the dairy chain. Membership covers 54 countries and is growing. The IDF accounts for about 82% of current total milk production worldwide.

The mission of the IDF is to represent the dairy sector worldwide by providing the best global source of scientific expertise and knowledge in support of the development and promotion of quality milk and dairy products to deliver consumers with nutrition, health and well-being.

The current chairman of Milk Marketing (NSW), Mr George Davey, has been a member of the Australian National Committee of the International Dairy Federation (ANCIDF) since 1989 and has served as an Australian delegate on a number of IDF committees including Commission C Economics, Marketing and Policies (Leader of Delegation), Commission A Production, Hygiene and Quality of Milk and the Programme Co-ordination Committee which oversees the work programmes for all Standing Committees. He currently represents Australia on the IDF's International Milk Promotion Group (IMP) (President 2004 – 2006) and Standing Committee on Marketing including Nutri-marketing (elected Chairman 2007).

Milk Marketing (NSW) has taken a leadership or proactive role in a number of IDF activities including:

co-hosting with Dairy Australia the annual meeting of the IDF Standing Committee on Marketing’s annual meeting In June 2008. To coincide with this meeting an industry roundtable sponsored by Milk Marketing (NSW) was held to enable the NSW dairy industry to meet with international industry representatives and discuss issues such as global warming, sustainability, innovations in farming practices and dairy product technology and emerging diseases and pathogens.
organising and conducting the first IDF International Conference on Issues and Crises Management in Sydney in 2000. As a consequence of expertise in this area the company Chairman, Mr George Davey, was invited to lead the development of the IDF policy and procedures in crisis management, participate on a task force on communications and to give presentations on this topic at a number of IDF meetings. Milk Marketing (NSW) and the NSW Food Authority held a second International Conference on Crisis Management in Sydney in June 2008. The conference was a great success, attracting over 200 local and international participants.
organising a symposium on Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in 2003. This Symposium led to a major national survey being conducted by the dairy industry and further precautionary control measures being introduced. A watching brief has been maintained with periodic reporting to the industry on developments as they occur.
assisting the IDF and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) plan and coordinate an on-going series of international school milk conferences. In recognition of its highly acclaimed school milk program in NSW, Milk Marketing (NSW) was invited to deliver presentations and share its experience at IDF/FAO international school milk conferences held in South Africa, England and Canada. In 1999 Milk Marketing (NSW) successfully organised and conducted the 3rd International School Milk Conference in Sydney.
entering on behalf of the Conference of Australian Milk Authorities (CAMA) and winning the prestigious International Milk Promotion Group Trophy for the world’s most successful generic dairy promotion campaign for
- Milk are you getting enough? (1996) and
- Milk. Legendary Stuff (1999).

Both campaigns were nationally and internationally acclaimed receiving multiple awards. Since then Australia, through Dairy Australia, has again won the trophy in 2002 and 2007.

Milk Marketing (NSW) representatives have been invited to organise, chair and deliver presentations at IDF and other professional conferences on topics dealing with issues relevant to the world dairy industry and representing Australian industry perspectives.

Presentations include:

'Responding to the challenges in the fresh milk market' at the National Agriculture and Resources Outlook conference, Australia (1991)
'Australia’s experience with protein standardisation of liquid milk' at the IDF's Symposium on Protein Standardisation, South Africa (1996)
'School milk programs in Australia' presented at IDF/FAO international school milk conferences, South Africa (1998), England (1999) and Canada (2001)
'ESL technology in milk processing in Australia' at an IDF conference on milk processing, Germany (2000)
'A cooperative approach to managing food safety' at an IDF conference on food safety, New Zealand (2001)

Other activities include:

chairing an IDF symposium Adapting communication to changing modes of shopping and eating, France (2002)
presenting a paper 'Turning a commodity into a brand' at the annual convention of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology, Sydney (2002)
presenting a paper 'Dairy farm hygiene and safety – through chain validation of HACCP plans for dairy processing plants' at an IDF conference in South Africa (2004)
chairing an IDF marketing conference A Global Dairy Community Promoting a Global Dairy Message (2004)
organising and chairing IDF marketing conferences in China (2006) and Ireland (2007)
sponsoring the 2008 Royal Agricultural Society Dairy Products Competition and hosting an international cheese judge from France, Mr Yves Boutonnat in Sydney in February 2008
hosting an industry round table discussion at the offices of the NSW Food Authority on 14 February where Mr Boutonnat gave an overview of innovations in dairy products and market trends in Europe (PPT, 6.33MB).

Milk Marketing (NSW) has been acknowledged and supported for its role in representing the NSW dairy industry in IDF forums and has received the endorsement of the NSW Dairy Industry Conference for this work.

Milk Marketing has become an Associate Member of the Global Dairy Platform. Through its liaison with the International Dairy Federation and other international contacts, Milk Marketing (NSW) is now part of an international network. Through these channels Milk marketing (NSW) receives regular reports on emerging issues which may have an effect on the NSW dairy industry. The company has developed systems for disseminating information on emerging issues to stakeholders and opinion leaders.

International Dairy Federation activities

timetable of meetings (pdf, 149KB)

2009

The Chair chaired the International Dairy Federation Standing Committee on Marketing mid year meeting and attended the International Milk Promotion business meetings at the Norwegian Dairy Council in Oslo. A significant standing item on the agenda is the development of a rapid alert mechanism for emerging food safety and bio-security issues to improve communications between member countries. The NSW dairy industry, through Milk Marketing, has played a lead role in this initiative and is already benefiting from informal information exchange mechanisms with the USA and UK. This has proved valuable in regard to issues such as A2 milk health claims, the relationship between Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and Johnes and Crohns diseases, animal welfare and obesity. Information gained from these sources is distributed on a regular basis to members of the NSW Dairy Industry Conference.

2008

Chair attended the IDF World Dairy Summit in Mexico City, chairing a meeting of the IDF Standing Committee on Marketing, participating in the IMP group meeting, chairing the opening session of the IDF Marketing Conference and attending as a representative of the Australian National Committee of IDF at the IDF Forum and General Assembly. The Chair also attended the Annual General meeting of Global Dairy Platform. The Chair was also nominated by the Australian National Committee for the position of IDF President.

The Chair led a delegation of representatives of the NSW Dairy Industry Conference from both industry and government on a study tour of the dairy industry in the UK and Ireland. The study tour included participation in an International Dairy Federation International Conference on climate change, examination of the structural, organisational and regulatory changes to the UK and Ireland dairy industry post deregulation and identification and observation of trends in the UK and Ireland markets and their effects on industry participants.

2007

The Chair represented the Australian dairy industry, Milk Marketing (NSW) Pty Ltd and the NSW Food Authority at the IDF World Dairy Summit in Ireland and associated business meetings dealing with food safety and hygiene, standards, promotion and crisis management. In addition, the Chair chaired a conference session on marketing and co-chaired a meeting of the International Milk Promotions Group. The Chair participated in a seminar at the University of Ulster, Belfast on Agri-food business Development, and contributed to workshop examination of future priorities in this field.

The Chair represented the Australian dairy industry, Milk Marketing (NSW) Pty Limited and NSW Food Authority at the Mid Year Meeting of the International Dairy Federation (IDF), International Milk Promotion (IMP) Group and Standing Committee on Marketing, held in France and Switzerland, dealing with international collaboration on issues and crises management, harmonization of communication on promoting the image of dairy foods and the dairy industry domestically and globally, and exchanging information on marketing, health and nutrition and food safety.

2006

The Chair represented the Australian dairy industry, Milk Marketing (NSW) Pty Limited and the NSW Food Authority at the IDF World Dairy Congress in Shanghai and associated business meetings dealing with food safety and hygiene, standards, promotion and crisis management. Further, he chaired a conference session on marketing and to Chair a meeting of the International Milk Promotions Group. He also met with officials of the Beijing Olympic Organising Committee and of the Beijing Food Administration to discuss progress with food safety arrangements for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and to further develop collaboration between the NSW Food Authority and the BFA.

The Chair represented the Australian dairy industry, Milk Marketing (NSW) Pty Ltd and NSW Food Authority at the Mid Year Meeting of the International Dairy Federation, the International Milk Promotion Group and the international Dairy Federation Standing Committee on Marketing, held in Chicago, dealing with international collaboration on issues and crises management, harmonisation of communication on promoting the image of dairy foods and the dairy industry domestically and globally, and exchanging information on marketing, health and nutrition and food safety. The Chair met with USA dairy farming and manufacturing representatives impacted by the devastation of cyclone Katrina in the state of Louisiana to discuss crisis management procedures and lessons learnt.

2005

The Chair represented the Australian dairy industry, Milk Marketing (NSW) Pty Ltd and NSW Food Authority at the International Dairy Federation 2005 World Dairy Summit in Canada. The Chair participated in a conference on nutri-marketing, moderated a session of that conference and participated and chaired meetings of the International Dairy Federation Standing Committee on Marketing and the International Milk Promotion Group respectively. The Chair provided an update on the organisation of the conference programs on food safety, marketing and nutrition for the International Dairy Federation 2006 World Dairy Summit and program for the PCC meeting, and at the International Dairy Federation Standing Committee on Marketing and International Milk Promotion Group meeting.

The Chair represented the Australian dairy industry, Milk Marketing (NSW) Pty Ltd and NSW Food Authority at the Mid Year Meeting of the International Dairy Federation, the International Milk Promotion Group and the International dairy Federation Standing Committee on Marketing in Ireland. A significant item on the agenda was the development of a rapid alert mechanism for emerging food safety and bio-security issues to improve communications between member countries. The Chair gave a presentation on this matter which was adopted by the International Dairy Federation and resulted in a work program and the development of a rapid alert mechanism.

top

Related research

Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map) and the possible links to Crohn’s disease, Report of the Scientific Committee of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, May 2009 (pdf, 1.84MB)

top

Recent local activities

In June 2008 Milk Marketing (NSW) together with the NSW Dairy industry Conference hosted a forum on climate change for the dairy industry. The forum was attended by the President of the International Dairy Federation and Director General of Dairy UK, Jim Begg; Executive Director of the Global Dairy Platform, Kevin Bellamy; and the Chairman of the NSW Farmers Association Dairy Committee, Adrian Drury.
In June 2008 hosted the International Dairy Federation (IDF) Standing Committee on Marketing and International Milk Promotion (IMP) Group meetings.
Supported and sponsored "Issues and Crisis Management Conference" held by the NSW Food Authority in June 2008 that attracted international and national speakers.
In June/July 2008 Milk Marketing (NSW) led a dairy industry leadership program tour of the UK involving 12 participants from the NSW dairy industry. The tour was co-sponsored by Milk Marketing and NSW Dairy Industry Conference. Funding for the study tour was also provided by NSW Farmers’ Association, DIDCO, Grahame Park Trust, Sub-Tropical Dairy Program, Dairy Farmers Co-operative, National Foods, Bega Cheese and the NSW Amalgamated Milk Vendors Association. Participants were those in leadership positions within the NSW dairy industry, representing the NSW Dairy Industry Conference, NSW Farmers’ Association, NSW Milk and Dairy Products Association, AMVA , NSW Food Authority, NSW Department of Primary Industries, DIDCO and one study tour scholarship awarded to a young dairy industry professional following a written application and interview process for the scholarship.
In August 2008 Milk Marketing (NSW) hosted two meetings in Sydney with visiting representatives from the Global Dairy Platform and Dairy Marketing Inc., both based in Chicago USA. The first meeting was on nutrient profiling and dairy products. The meeting involved key representatives from the Global Dairy Platform and Dairy Marketing Inc, along with local nutritional and public health experts, and members of the NSW dairy industry. The second meeting was on environmental sustainability and involved representatives from the Global Dairy Platform and Dairy Marketing Inc, local dairy processor and farmer representatives.
Sponsorship of the Dairy Industry of Australia (NSW Division) Annual Conference.
Sponsorship of the Dairy Industry of Australia (NSW Division) Annual Dairy Products competition (Dairy Product Innovation Award).
Continued support for the Dairy Research Foundation, University of Sydney and the Chair of Dairy Science.
Transferred membership of Dairy Research Foundation membership from NSW Food Authority to Milk Marketing (NSW) Pty Limited and sponsorship of annual Dairy Science Award.
Co-sponsored with Dairy Industry Association of Australia (NSW Division) a technical seminar on functional dairy foods, bioactives and dairy nutrition with Professor Bruce German, University of California, USA.
Hosted Mr Michael Lambert, UK dairy Industry, for a meeting with NSW dairy industry leaders on the current situation of UK and EU dairy prices and future outlook as the world economic crisis began to take hold.
Hosted Mr Neil Willman, Chief Dairy Judge, NSW Royal Agricultural Society, for a seminar on innovation in dairy manufacture, cheese making and the quality of dairy products produced in Australia.
Contracted Ms Jan Todd, Industrial and Science Historian, to undertake research and writing of the history of the NSW dairy industry around deregulation. A steering committee from the dairy industry was established to oversee the project.
Provided information from the international dairy community activities and news to the NSW dairy industry via email circulation.
Continued a watching brief on the status of the bacterium Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in the dairy industry and provided updates to the industry.
Chair attended the IDF World Dairy Summit in Mexico City, chairing a meeting of the IDF Standing Committee on Marketing, participating in the IMP group meeting, chairing the opening session of the IDF Marketing Conference and attending as a representative of the Australian National Committee of IDF at the IDF Forum and General Assembly. The Chair also attended the Annual General meeting of Global Dairy Platform. The Chair was also nominated by the Australian National Committee for the position of IDF President.