Moltema farmers Mark and Dan Griffin's cows are blissfully unaware there is a global pandemic going on.
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The 800-strong crossbred herd supplies four and a half million litres of milk annually to Cadbury for its chocolate products and has been so far unaffected by the coronavirus crisis.
The Griffin brothers are fifth-generation farmers, whose farm is no stranger to hygiene and biosecurity practices, which has put them in a strong place to respond to social distancing regulations and rules for their staff.
Coronavirus: All the latest updates on COVID-19 for Tasmani
Farmers have been Tasmania's mainstay and a pillar of the state's economy for decades and, as such, have and will continue to play a vital role in the economic recovery from the pandemic.
"We haven't really been affected by coronavirus, other than putting social distancing measures in place," Mr Griffin said.
Mr Griffin said farmers were eternally grateful they had been classified as essential workers, to make sure food and other products are not disrupted.
The farm at Moltema has been in the family's hands since 1860 and the brothers said still saw a bright future not only for dairy but agriculture more broadly.
Tasmania's road map to recovery
There is the potential in the next 10 to 15 years for Tasmania to solidify its position..
- Dairy farmer Mark Griffin
"Tasmania has a great opportunity because we are in a place where there is abundant access to water and the opportunity to grow that through irrigation schemes," he said. "There is the potential in the next 10 to 15 years for Tasmania to solidify its position in the national agricultural industry for what we contribute."
The Griffin family prides itself on the quality of their milk and have been recognised for the past three years.
"We are ranked in the top half a dozen dairy farms in Tasmania for milk quality and we are really proud of that," he said.
Dairy Tasmania chief executive Jonathon Price said a favourable autumn for both prices and weather had buoyed the industry.
He said the gross product was up 4.2 per cent on last year for this quarter however there did remain some uncertainty moving forward.
Prices for the next financial year will be announced in June, which will have an impact on the season.
"We don't really know yet what those prices will be but for this financial year we are looking to break the record for milk produced," he said.
Tasmanian dairy farmers have produced 909 million litres of milk so far this year, which looks set to "eclipse the 913 million litre record".
Farmers have changed some business practices to make sure any visitors to the farm are only there for essential business to minimise the risk but cows continue supply the market for dairy products.
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