Like other commodities including wheat and cane, the dairy industry eventually went through the process of deregulation.
For dairy, this process took place in the late 1990s when the Australian Dairy Industry Council approached the federal government about deregulating the drinking milk sector and ending manufacturing milk price support in 1999.
Queensland farmers took to the streets of Brisbane in protest, however there was no stopping the change and the state milk authorities were wound up on July 1, 2000.
automation of milking
Return of small milk companies
Rising cost of production
$1/L milk saga