On The Land
28 March, 2026
Dairy Fund plan backed at Malanda meeting
A CULTIVATE Farming Fund will be established following a recent successful launch event in Malanda where the fund received potential capital commitments.
The meeting confirmed the Atherton Tablelands dairy industry was facing real pressures including rising entry point costs that make it harder for talented new entrants to enter the industry and the risk of declining milk supply to the Malanda dairy factory if more land shifts away from dairy.
The fund, which has the support of Tablelands Dairy Pathways, Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative Limited, Circular Head Farms and Management Advisors Pty Ltd, was formally presented to the community at the meeting held earlier this month.
Tablelands Dairy Pathways board director and key driver of the initiative, Bill Tranter, who has worked with over 1,000 dairy farming families across the district, spoke of the broader economic impact of the dairy industry.
He noted that the Malanda veterinary practice alone employed 14 veterinarians and 19 nurses and support staff, and that all 1,296 graduates of James Cook University’s veterinary program had undertaken part of their training in the region because of the dairy industry.
Board chair Colin Daley said: “The milestone marks the transition from preparation to careful local engagement.
“This is about creating real pathways for the next generation of dairy farmers, keeping dairy strong on the Tablelands, and giving locals a practical way to invest in their own future and the community’s long-term resilience.
“We’ve taken the time to put the right structures in place so conversations can happen properly, locally, and with a long-term view.”
The meeting agreed that a strong, vibrant dairy sector benefited everyone, with factory workers keeping jobs, local businesses seeing more cash flow, retired farmers staying connected to the industry, and young families having pathways to enter farming.
The fund is seen as a practical, community-led way to respond, providing an opportunity for locals to invest in their own future while helping secure dairy for generations to come.
“The fund’s objective is to support local community dairy farm investment and development and to create pathways to farm/equity ownership for sharefarmers,” a spokesperson said.
“This is intended to provide long term growth for the dairy industry and local communities while delivering strong financial performance for Wholesale Client investors.”
The meeting heard that the fund was intended to:
• Acquire and lease local dairy farms and operate them in partnership with sharefarmers;
• Fund farm conversions to dairy use then operate them in partnership with sharefarmers;
• Create pathways for sharefarmers to gain farming experience and to grow equity in the dairy farm that they operate;
• Source inputs and services from within the local community as far as practicable;
• Retain and expand the local community milk production Achieve financial and physical results that underpin a long-term commercial dairy operation while delivering strong financial performance for Wholesale Clients; and
• Manage the business in such a manner that investors can be proud of the quality of the assets and the impact that the business is having on the environment, local community and staff.
Alongside commercial objectives, the fund also intends to operate its dairy farms where it can improve farm productivity, deliver strong animal welfare practices, local supplies sourcing, and investment in climate-resilient and nature-positive farming systems.
“These outcomes help sustain a strong dairy industry that benefits the whole Tablelands community,” a spokesperson said.
Initial investments are expected to focus on community-backed dairy farms within the Tableland Dairy Pathways catchment, particularly around Malanda.
