The dairy industry is warning taking an additional 450 giga litres of water from the Murray Darling Basin for the environment must be a last resort.

Basin ministers meet on Friday to determine the neutrality test, that’ll underpin decision making on future decisions on water efficiency measures.

The Murray Darling Basin is home to about 1,400 dairy farms, that produce 1.8 billion litres of milk annually, accounting for about 20 percent of the country’s total milk pool.

Rural reporter Eddie Summerfield caught up with Australian Dairy Industry Council Water Taskforce Chairman Daryl Hoey.

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