Dairy farmers hit by falling milk prices are waiting to find out how they will benefit from a new brand that supermarket giant Coles says will put more money in their pockets.
Each litre sold of the yet-to-be named brand, which Coles expects to have on shelves within three months, will put 20 cents into a fund for about 2,600 NSW and Victoria farmers hit by Murray Goulburn's decision to cut how much it pays them.
Coles said it will forgo any profit on the project and throw in an extra $1 million, but the farmers are waiting on the full details.
The Australian Dairy Farmers industry body was meeting with Coles on Tuesday and Wednesday to seek clarification.
"We've been speaking with Coles but we haven't been provided with any great detail," Australian Dairy Farmers president Simone Jolliffe said.
"We certainly will look forward to hearing that detail."
The new brand will be unrelated to Coles' own label milk, which has been sold at $1 a litre since 2011.
That pricing was matched by Woolworths in the so-called supermarket milk wars, which put heavy downward pressure on pricing.
"Australian Dairy Farmers have always advocated strongly against the dollar-a-litre milk and for consumers to purchase conscientiously," said Ms Jolliffe, who added that ADF is also talking with Woolworths this week.
"If Coles is moving to add value to the value chain, farmers would certainly welcome that and how they do that may best be done in a more transparent form."
Coles said the scheme will run along similar lines to its partnerships with SADA Fresh milk in South Australia and with WA Farmers First milk in Western Australia.
Ms Jolliffe said those are industry-led initiatives.
With Coles own-brand milk accounting for about six per cent of Murray Goulburn's milk intake, the latest farmgate price cuts are a result of a drop in the global commodity price.
Three Murray Goulburn directors have resigned and the dairy co-operative is facing a class action in the Victorian Supreme Court alleging it misled investors over pricing when it partially floated on the ASX.
"It's important that we have a vibrant dairy farming sector, and we can only have that if we work together to ensure the long-term health of the industry," Coles managing director John Durkan said in a statement.
In the meantime, the Victorian government is bringing in extra counsellors to help farmers devastated by the price cuts.
"There's no easy solutions presented to us and our first priority in the face of the price reductions and the clawbacks is the farmers - helping them control what they can now and giving them the support they need," Ms Jolliffe said.
