The intensity of the drought just got longer last week and moved to areas of the North Island, even though cooler temperatures prevailed and some misty rain arrived.
A drought declaration in the South Island confirmed the seriousness of the situation, and bought in feed increased in demand and price.
Reports suggest younger farmers are struggling to cope with the intensity of the dry in the south, after the last 10 years have been relatively moist, but older managers still recall past droughts, and are using their experience to deal with the situation.
Milk production volumes are falling with the feed shortages, and the South Island’s contribution is now 5% lower than January last year.
Pregnancy and herd testing of cows gives farmers opportunities to cull inefficient animals, and decrease the pressure on feed supply, but a processing backlog is causing delays.
The Fonterra chairman again reminded farmers, that if the $4.70/kgms prediction is to be achieved, it requires WMP prices to lift quickly to rates in the $3,500/tonne region.
And the latest auction moved a long way toward this with a stunning rise for all dairy commodities, and whole milk powder selling for $3272/tonne in a reduced volume event.
MyMilk reports good progress in the central South Island in attracting new suppliers, especially as Synlait’s present milk forecast, is lower.
The Southern Dairy Hub proposal is stalling for funds with the dairy downturn, as organizers strive to build a research and extension facility that promotes the sector in that region.
LIC has reported a better financial year than expected, with strong interest in animals with short gestation genes, DNA parentage testing, and automation technology helping keep their results respectable.
News that Fonterra are bidding to take a 20% interest in a Chinese infant formula processing company shows where the growth aspirations lie, but the challenges remain in this market, with reports of a high number of rejections and returns of product, blamed on tardy paperwork, not poor quality product.
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hi ho the derry o, farmer in the dell... the cheese stands alone :(
The New Zealand farm group arm of the Shanghai Pengxin Group owned by Chinese billionaire Jiang Zhoabai says it plans to double its $500 million of local assets within the next five years.
Andy Macleod, chief executive of the Pengxin New Zealand Farm Group, said the group had kept a low profile since its controversial 2012 purchase of the former Crafar Farms for $200 million, which was the largest-ever foreign acquisition of New Zealand land by value.
"We've wanted to get some runs on the board and we are a private company," he told farmers at a Federated Farmers dairy conference in Taupo yesterday. "We are 100 percent Chinese owned and do get in the limelight because of that."
Macleod said the group was hunting for more farms because it wanted to have scale.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11404757
and after 2017.
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