Mungalli Creek Dairy processes nearly four million litres of milk annually. Credit: Jagoda Kondratiuk on Unsplash.

Australia’s Mungalli Creek Dairy is planning to expand its milk-producing capacity by constructing a processing plant at Atherton Tablelands near Cairns, Queensland.

Construction of A$3m ($2.017m) processing plant has support from the Queensland government’s A$175m ($117m) Jobs and Regional Growth Fund.

Mungalli Creek Dairy CEO Robert Watson said: “I hope the expansion and modernisation of our processing facility gives confidence to other businesses in the region and will encourage them to innovate and respond to opportunities in increasingly diverse consumer tastes.”

The proposed facility, equipped with modern and efficient equipment, will be used by the company to produce and process more milk and yoghurt, as well as cheese.

Established in 2000, Mungalli Creek Dairy is the only paddock-to-plate biodynamic dairy in Queensland that uses an enhanced form of organic and regenerative farming.

In addition to the processing plant, the company also invested A$2.7m ($1.8m) to purchase additional farmland to increase their milk supply.

Member for Cairns Michael Healy said: “This new A$3m facility will allow the business to produce and process more milk, yoghurt and cheese, meaning more jobs for the Tropical North.

“Our region has some of the best farming land in the country and the Mungalli Creek team are maximising those nutrients to make amazing products for the public.

“We want more people to be buying and eating Queensland and through initiatives like the Jobs and Regional Growth Fund our government is making sure that happens.”

The dairy company, which processes nearly four million litres of milk annually, also completed facility near Millaa Millaa, south-west of Cairns.