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The UDV members travelled to the home of the AFL — the Melbourne Cricket Ground — to discuss issues closer to home including milk pricing, international market access and advocacy.

VFF president Peter Tuohey said milk prices were affected by local and global factors, including supply and demand, freight costs and the high Australian dollar.

‘‘In all reality, we can only have a minor effect on these factors, but I will add the VFF is involved in lowering or improving some of these circumstances,’’ Mr Tuohey said.

‘‘Without a strong farmer lobby group, we would be at the mercy of many supply chain costs and regulatory impacts.’’

He said the VFF had successfully lobbied for silage wagon road use changes, cow underpass funding, primary producer registration, B-double access, diesel fuel rebates and stamp duty exemption for young farmers.

He said effective advocacy needed a unified approach and good research.

Mr Tuohey said the VFF had invited Farmer Power to join and participate in a submission to Federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig for short-term grants.

West Goulburn branch member Wade Northausen said a much stronger representation from all the farmer lobby groups was needed on water issues, particularly the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

‘‘The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is the biggest threat we’ve seen to irrigated agriculture in Australia.’’

Mr Tuohey said the VFF was meeting with federal and Victorian politicians and would continue pushing to have farmers’ issues about this topic understood.

Fellow West Goulburn branch member Tim Leahy made the trip from Girgarre to Melbourne to fight for farmers’ rights and a better farm gate milk price.

‘‘During the next 12 months it will be very challenging to make a profit with increasing costs, including increasing power bills, grain prices and fertiliser costs,’’ Mr Leahy said.

VFF Campaspe group chair Peter Gibson said the conference was an opportunity to make farmers’ feelings known, including on milk pricing structures.

‘‘You would have to be a Rhodes Scholar to compare suppliers’ milk prices,’’ Mr Gibson said.

Murray Goulburn shareholder relations general manager Robert Poole foreshadowed the announcement of a new milk payment system to suppliers this week.

Mr Poole told the UDV conference the new system would be simpler and fairer.