As if it wasn’t difficult enough being a primary producer in today’s economy, the latest crisis to hit the dairy industry is enough to turn any bovine’s milk sour.
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For years, unpredictable weather patterns and falling commodity prices have placed extra pressure on many of the nation’s farmers.
Closer to home, the state's dairy farmers were already struggling to feed their stock thanks to the prolonged dry patch that hit Tasmania around January.
But now they face an even greater hurdle.
To put the whole sorry saga in simple terms: before April, dairy farmers were paid 55 cents for a litre of milk.
Following the announcement of the reduction by dairy giants Fonterra and Murray Goulbourn, the same farmer in May and June will only get 15 cents a litre.
It's worth noting that the average cost to the farmer to produce a litre of milk is around 30 cents a litre.
Even at 55 cents a litre, there's not a huge profit margin for producers.
You don't have to be an economist to realise that if you're only getting 15c a litre and it costs you 30c a litre to produce the product, you're not going to stay in business very long.
On Wednesday, deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce called on dairy farmers struggling with the latest payment saga to stay resilient.
Unfortunately Mr Joyce, banks don't take resilience as a substitute for mortgage payments.
Supermarket giant Coles' won some praise for announcing a 'fighting fund' to help struggling dairy farmers by committing to tip in 20 cents a litre from a new brand of milk.
However, critics were quick to point out that it was Coles' battle with competitor Woolworths over a share of the milk market, which was the catalyst for many of the problems the industry now faces.
That battle resulted in $1 a litre milk appearing on supermarket shelves.
A long-term solution is needed, and needed soon. The industry has responded by setting up a task force and offering a loan scheme for its affected suppliers as well as an autumn offset package.
But consumers must also realise that long term, cheap milk isn't sustainable for the industry, and we must be prepared to pay a reasonable price for our milk when we visit the supermarket.
