With the start of the dairy season less than a fortnight away, southwest Victorian solicitors are urging farmers to seek advice before signing their milk supply agreements.

Sewells Lawyers co-owner Bec Alexander said taking time to analyse a milk supply agreement could save tens of thousands of dollars.

"Having grown up on a farm and practising in rural law, I've seen the dairy industry change dramatically in the past decade or so," Bec said.

"The old days of the co-operatives - where the milk factories were run by farmers for the farmers, are long gone. Now the processors are mainly operated overseas and they are focused on delivering returns to their shareholders, not dairy farmers."

The Gardiner Foundation have generously announced this week that drought-hit farmers can access funding for legal advice, with more information available from the website: www.rfcsvictoriawest.com.au

Opening prices were issued by all processors on June 2, as stipulated by the Federal Government's mandatory code of conduct.

The code of conduct was established five years ago in the wake of the 2016 clawback by Fonterra and Murray Goulburn, when farmers had their dairy cheques slashed midway through the season.

Bec said that under the code, the processors were able to revise their prices until July 1 - and several have done so in recent weeks.

"The big processors have a team of lawyers working on the milk supply agreements, in the hope that farmers just sign without looking through all the paperwork," Bec says. "Whether it's taking an hour or so yourself to look through the document, or talking to a lawyer, checking over things and comparing prices and the fine print can save a lot of money in the long run. But talking to someone who is independent of the processors is important."

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