Business · Companies · 4 hrs ago
Bega seeks up to 30% more milk from Far North Queensland farmers
Bega Group wants Atherton Tablelands farmers to supply more milk to its Malanda factory in Far North Queensland.
Farmers currently deliver about 30 million litres a year, and Bega is aiming for 35 to 40 million litres.
Seasonal disruptions can leave the factory short, so Bega sometimes brings in up to 2 million litres a year from Victoria.
More local milk could cut costly interstate transport over the long distance to northern Queensland.
Dairy advocate Eric Danzi says a price increase, including restoring a diesel levy, may be needed to encourage farmers to expand.
Farmer James Geraghty says more producers may be needed, though the request could give younger farmers confidence to start or grow farms.
Bega expects to build larger cold storage in Cairns next year, which it hopes will reduce the need to send milk south when Malanda runs out of space.
Bega Group wants Atherton Tablelands farmers to increase milk deliveries to its Malanda factory by 20 to 30 per cent.
The company receives about 30 million litres a year from local farmers and hopes to raise that to 35 million or 40 million litres.
Bega says more local milk would reduce its reliance on supplies from Victoria, which can cost more to transport.
Dairy advocacy group eastAUsmilk welcomed the request but said higher prices may be needed to encourage production.
Farmer James Geraghty said more farmers may be needed to meet the target, while the request could encourage younger farmers.
- Who
- Bega Group is seeking more milk from Atherton Tablelands farmers.
- What
- The company wants farmers to increase deliveries to its Malanda factory by 20 to 30 per cent.
- When
- The request was reported on October 28, 2026.
- Where
- The Atherton Tablelands and Bega’s Malanda factory in Far North Queensland, Australia.
- Why
- Bega wants to boost local production and reduce reliance on milk transported from Victoria.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Bega Group took over the Malanda factory.
The 5-cents-a-litre diesel levy was withdrawn, according to eastAUsmilk chief executive Eric Danzi.
ABC Australia reported Bega Group’s request for farmers to increase milk deliveries by 20 to 30 per cent.
Bega expected to build a new cold chain storage site in Cairns.
- Requested increase
- 20 to 30 per cent
- Current local supply
- About 30 million litres a year
- Bega’s target
- 35 million or 40 million litres
- Malanda factory
- Far North Queensland
- Victoria supply
- 1 million to 2 million litres a year during seasonal disruptions
- Cairns storage capacity
- About 50 per cent more milk than the current Malanda site
What people are saying
We get about 30 million litres a year from the farmers on the tablelands, and we'd love to take that to sort of 35 or 40 [million]
If you want to actually grow by 20 per cent, you probably need to increase the price by at least 10 cents a litre to encourage that to occur.
I think it's very positive. It'd be great to see more milk produced locally and sent through the factory
That's a really, really positive part of our industry, and we have a lot of young people within the industry looking to grow the industry.