Fonterra says its Australian dairy factories and farmers have so far been untouched by the bush fires devastating parts of Victoria and NSW, but the threatening danger has the company on full alert.
Fonterra Australia managing director Rene Dedoncker said the areas where Fonterra has processing operations and supplyingfarmers remained largely unaffected.
"However with no immediate end to the fires in sight and with the continued dry conditions as a result of the drought, we are staying close to any emerging risks and our priority is to ensure our people and farmers are safe."
Fonterra was looking at what it could do to support affected communities facing "huge challenges" from the fires, and as a first step had donated milk powder to its charity partner Foodbank for inclusion in emergency relief packs, Dedoncker said.
"We're also talking to a number of support organisations about what help we can provide in the form of logistics, transport and warehousing."
Fonterra's Australian manufacturing sites are in Victoria and Tasmania: at Stanhope, northern Victoria; Cobden, western Victoria; Darnum, Gippsland; Bayswater near Melbourne; at Spreydon and Wynyard, Tasmania.
Meanwhile, Dairy Australia said fewer than 100 farms had been affected by the bush fires at this stage.
But two dairy farmers were among those who have died.
NSW father and son Robert and Patrick Salway were killed last week as they battled to save the family home on a farm near Cobargo. The Badja Forest Rd fire that engulfed the property has burned through more than 82,000 hectares in the area. The main street of the historic village of Cobargo was destroyed, with the NSW Rural Fire Service estimating dozens of buildings were engulfed.
The fires in Australia have caused enormous damage. Photo / File
Dairy Australia executive Peter Johnson said it was too early to estimate the impact of the fires on dairy herd numbers and milk production.
He said some of the affected farms had sustained significant paddock and buildings damage.
"Overall stock losses from milking herds have been minimal although there are reports of impacts on young animals.
"Some farms are disposing milk in areas with power outages or where access issues are preventing tanker pickups, or low power supply is preventing the cooling of milk."
Johnson said Dairy Australia was working with local authorities and processors to support farmers in managing the impact of the fires on herds and to minimise animal welfare issues.
Dairying is Australia's fourth largest rural industry. It is supported by around 5200 farmers with 35 per cent of all milk exported. The 1.4 million-cow Australian dairy herd produced milk to the value of AU$4.4b (NZ$4.5b) last year.
