As the year moves past June the mild dry weather, in the south, it continues to amaze and concern managers with the lack of soil moisture for the spring.
In these conditions stock are wintering well, but reports from the very dry areas in North Canterbury make grim reading, as the area is still devoid of stock and many workers have had to look for alternative work.
Some soil temperatures are 5 degrees above last year and grass is growing in areas with moisture, but most managers would trade this for wetter ground conditions and a lush spring.
Further north moisture is not an issue and some areas are needing to be very careful about pugging damage, and loss of spring pasture growth potential especially those that are wintering on grass at home.
Murray Goulburn s opening payout prediction of $4.31 has shocked the Australian dairy industry and while $5/kg from Bega Cheese is an improvement, nobody across the ditch makes money at these levels.
Post Brexit the markets have settled, but analysts suggest it’s effects will be seen in the medium term with economic activity sure to suffer in both the UK and Europe.
This week’s milk auction looks pivotal to revealing market sentiment as increased volumes of whole milk powder will test current price levels.
Analysts have reviewed last nights result as OK in these times of uncertainty, although the 0.4% drop by all commodities and 1.6% fall for whole milk powders will not cause any optimism for a payout rise.
The slowness of the upturn will reinforce the importance of reducing costs out of dairy farming systems, and at this stage this avenue appears to be more likely to drive profits, than any hopes of a lift in income.
The numbers still sharemilking have dropped significantly as the economics and security of this system look shaky, and the implications of this change will affect future dairy growth.
Stage Two of the Canterbury Central Plains Irrigation scheme appears to be on track for a start, as farmers in the area look to invest long term with water and realise the diverse range of opportunities this will create.
The harvest, store, and use model for irrigation is the way of the future, and should protect the groundwater reserves, streams and waterways that this drought has depleted.
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8 Comments
Cheap feed in the States will cause production to increase
The "A" number one reason why NZ should absolutely not let up on our GE free status and why we should as much as possible, encourage organic farming, with diversification into more niche industries, such as dairy sheep/goats etc. Does not matter if GE is not harmful or organic is not particularly beneficial, there are plenty of people in the world with the money to say they are. If we go down this track, we would not be so subject to the vagaries of the open market.
Could be harder than you think
http://www.alternet.org/food/organic-traitors-team-monsanto-and-big-foo…?
Organic brands owned by large corporations who are members of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the Organic Trade Association, Whole Foods Market, UNFI (United Natural Foods) and a cabal of sell-out non-profit organizations have surrendered to Monsanto and corporate agribusiness by embracing the latest version of the DARK Act, the Robert-Stabenow Senate bill, that if passed, will nullify the Vermont law requiring mandatory GMO labeling.
Despite the fact that GMO- and pesticide-contaminated foods are dangerous; that at least 90 percent of American consumers want to know whether or not their food is genetically engineered; and that the now-enacted Vermont GMO labeling law is already forcing major food corporations (General Mills, Campbell’s, Kellogg’s, Danone, ConAgra, Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, Mars, Hershey’s, Wonder Bread, Starbucks and others) either to disclose GMO contamination in their products or reformulate and remove GMOs, a self-selected group of so-called organic leaders have gone over to the DARK side. The growing list of "organic traitors" includes the head of Whole Foods Market, Walter Robb; Gary Hirshberg, the CEO of Stonyfield Farm and the pseudo-pro GMO labeling group Just Label It; the Environmental Working Group, represented by Scott Faber, former head lobbyist for the pro-biotech Grocery Manufacturers Association; UNFI, the largest wholesaler of natural and organic foods; and the Organic Trade Association, led by “natural” brands such as Smuckers and White Wave, and represented by board chair Melissa Hughes from Organic Valley.
These self-selected “good food” and “organic” leaders have been telling Congress behind closed doors—and now publicly—that they and the organic community will accept an industry-crafted DARK Act “compromise"—the Stabenow/Roberts bill— that eliminates mandatory GMO labeling and preempts the Vermont law with a convoluted and deceptive federal regime for QR codes and 1-800 numbers that is completely voluntary, with no firm guidelines for implementation and no provisions whatsoever for enforcement.
Perhaps even more outrageous, the legal definition of “bioengineered” foods under the new DARK Act means that 95 percent of the current GMO-tainted foods on the market, including foods made from Roundup-resistant and BT-spliced corn and soy, would never have to be identified.
Sorry to change the subject, but I had some dealings with Nait today. What a total shambles it has become, I'm completely over it. It would be lucky if the data they had was 40% accurate. If they sacked everyone at nait and closed it down no one would notice it was gone.
I agree, I am an information provider, same as a stock agent or meat works, and I am getting so frustrated with the amount of fiddling they keep doing which only seems to make it worse, and much slower for me to use.
I don't get too upset now if a movement doesn't complete, it just sometimes rejects things I try and do with no explanation given and my choices are to either call NAIT and have them look at what has gone wrong and suggest how to fix it, or just ignore it, and more often I choose to ignore it now and put it in the too hard basket.
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