Late December saw plentiful rain in most areas of the country allowing forage crops and pastures to recover and set the early summer feed situation up well.
All regions show rising pasture growth rates at present in response to that rain, with the South predicted to have more showery weather but the summer dry period to return to the north in mid January.
Operators are urged to carefully monitor summer feed budgets as things can change fast at this time of year, and review the mating performance after AB and regular rotation of follow up bulls.
Early pregnancy tests are occurring in the north and some facial eczema spores have been recorded and advisers suggest preventative measures should start early.
More optimism in the dairy sector was seen in Westland Milk Products lifting their predicted payout into the $7.90-$8.30 range, and Talleys increasing their stake in Open Country Cheese with a $40 million purchase of Olam International shares.
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Last nights dairy auction saw prices ease slightly on reduced volumes but as yet little indication prices are heading for a serious correction as some forecasters are suggesting.
They point to low feed grain prices in the US as an indicator of a resurgence of product from that countries dairy powerhouse and the impending relaxing of European quota restriction which could flood the market with bigger volumes of milk.
In a review of how the peak flow was handled in the spring, it appears the favourable pasture conditions have exposed the lack of capacity to handle the big increase in volumes, and all new processing capacity will be well utilized next year.
All new processing capacity being built both in the north and south has been reported to be on track for a spring start this year
News that 2 million dairy cows have been killed in China as small operations are now uneconomic and this reinforces that imported product demand will be strong from this area for a while yet.
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