Project Big Cow to boost Tasmania dairy industry

KPMG is pitching a billion dollar dairy cooperative and milk powder factory to the Chinese investors for the Tasmanian Midlands at the Tas Invest forum being held in Tasmania, Australia.

A new project called ‘Project Big Cow’ is being promoted by KPMG, which could double the size of Tasmania’s dairy industry.

According to the project proposal, approximately 160,000 cows would be leased to a cooperative that would supply milk to a $215m milk processing factory that will be built in the Midlands. It seeks $1.1bn to re-purpose 76,000ha of farmland.

The Mercury reported that the plant would have a capacity to produce up to 100,000t of premium priced Tasmanian-branded milk powder for export to China. An estimated 44,000 megalitres of water would be sourced through the Midlands and South Esk irrigation schemes.

Tasmania’s dairy industry is said to provide around 3,000 jobs in dairy farming and milk processing and produces more than 800 million litres annually. It contributes approximately $1bn every year to the Tasmanian economy.

KPMG managing partner Martin Rees was quoted by The Mercury as saying: "We rethought the whole finance structure approach and have done the feasibility. The structure is around a co-operative, no sale of land is involved, so it has every chance of getting up.

"We are talking to Chinese investors. We have a lot of keen clients who are farmers. We are also talking with the TFGA. This project is only the size of the third-largest in New Zealand, so this is absolutely doable."

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Image: The $1.1bn Project Big Cow could help in doubling Tasmania’s dairy production. Photo: courtesy of taoty/freedigitalphotos.net.