On The Land
14 March, 2026
New fund supports local dairy industry
A NEW fund is being established to support the future of the dairy industry on the Atherton Tablelands, with the announcement made at a meeting held at the Malanda Dairy Centre on Tuesday night.
The Cultivate Farming Fund (CFF) is being established with the support from Tablelands Dairy Pathways, Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative Limited, Circular Head Farms and Management Advisors Pty Ltd and will operate within an AFSL framework.
The Atherton Tablelands dairy industry faces real pressures, namely rising entry point costs make it harder for talented new entrants to enter the industry and the risk of declining milk supply to the factory if more land shifts away from dairy.
Fund proponents state that a strong, vibrant dairy sector benefits everyone – factory workers keep jobs, local businesses see more cash flow, retired farmers stay connected to the industry, and young families have pathways to enter farming.
Tablelands Dairy Pathways Board chair Colin Daley said the fund was 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,” he said.
“The initiative is about securing the future of dairy families and communities on the Atherton Tablelands for generations to come.
“The TDP board has taken a deliberately methodical approach to reaching this point, prioritising strong governance, the right partnerships and appropriate safeguards before engaging the community and have committed to investing in the fund and supporting its initial investments, reinforcing the locally-led nature of the program and ensuring its focus remains firmly on people, capability and enduring viability rather than short-term outcomes.”
The fund intentions are about:
• Acquiring and leasing local dairy farms and operating them in partnership with CFF sharefarmers;
• Funding farm conversions to dairy use then operate in partnership with sharefarmers;
• Creating pathways for sharefarmers to gain farming experience and to grow equity in the dairy farm that they operate;
• Sourcing inputs and services from within the local community as far as practical;
• Retaining and expanding the local community milk production;
• Achieving financial and physical results that underpin a long-term commercial dairy operation while delivering strong financial performance for Wholesale Clients; and
• Managing 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 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.
Initial investments were expected to focus on community-backed dairy farms within the TDP catchment, particularly around Malanda.
