00:02Milking cows is a tough job at the best of times.
00:05Come on girls! Come on!
00:07But during a global conflict, the pressure is unbearable.
00:11Farmers have just, they're just exhausted. They've had enough.
00:14The costs of fuel and fertiliser have skyrocketed,
00:17but the price of milk at the supermarket has barely moved.
00:20I think it has to go up. If it doesn't go up,
00:23the long-term viability of the dairy industry is going to be very much in question.
00:28And it's not just milk. Red meat, fruit and vegetables,
00:31anything that requires refrigerated road transport, are just as vulnerable.
00:35All of those are going to be affected because you're getting the double impact of fuel
00:38plus the fertiliser price, which are both incredibly elevated.
00:41Since the war started, diesel has soared from 186cl to a peak of $3.28 on the 9th of April,
00:49while fertiliser costs are up from $900 to more than $1,500 a tonne, a rise of 72%.
00:55Farmers say they can't absorb that cost and want supermarkets,
00:58with their billion-dollar annual profits, to step up.
01:01We all need to wear our own fair share of the burden we've got at the moment.
01:06That includes growers, households, but also supermarkets.
01:10Both Coles and Woolworth say they want to strike a balance
01:13between helping producers and keeping prices down for consumers.
01:16But yesterday, the Fair Work Commission ordered supermarkets and other companies
01:20to conduct more frequent reviews of their transport contracts
01:23to help trucking companies deal with the fuel crisis.
01:27Analysts are predicting fresh produce prices to rise by 2% to 3%
01:30and by as much as 10% in regional areas, and stay that way for much of 2026.
01:35So we are potentially in for, you know, maybe six months of a bit of price pain.
01:41Even if the war in the Middle East is resolved soon,
01:44experts warn the impact on global fuel supply could take years to return to normal.
01:49And that means for farmers like Ben Bennett, the high cost of doing business,
01:53and therefore the cost of our food, is set to become the new normal.
01:56We live in a very varied world and a bit of stability would be much appreciated.
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