Aussie dairy farmers will be able to receive AUD$20,000 (£11k) governmental grants to save energy.

The funding will provide the farming industry with equipment to reduce energy consumption and manage it more efficiently.

It will also help farmers to organise energy audits to investigate other opportunities for energy-efficient activities.

Energy use in milk cooling, milk harvesting and hot water production is one of the highest overheads in the dairy industry, costing dairy farmers as high as AUD$12,800 (£7,090) per 100 cows every year.

Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management David Littleproud, said: “Dairy farmers are in a price squeeze from an imbalanced market, but thanks to this grants and energy efficiency upgrade program, they will be able to keep more money in their pocket.”

Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor commented: “Farmers have long been at the forefront of innovation to reduce their cost of doing business and their emissions output but energy costs remain high for many in our dairy sector, especially where farmers are doing it tough on the back of bushfires and Covid-19.”