Record final milk price for Miraka suppliers
Farmers supplying milk to Taupo-based processor Miraka are getting a 2024-25 season base milk price of $10.16/kgMS.
Open Country Dairy (OCD) says it’s operating in a near ‘business as usual’ state under Alert 4 restrictions.
The news from New Zealand’s second-largest dairy manufacturer is a positive break as New Zealand’s number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow.“We feel lucky and privileged that our business is operating in a ‘business as usual’ state even with the strict Government rules in place,” said chief executive officer Steve Koekemoer in an email update to staff and milk suppliers.
“We might experience inefficiencies here and there as everybody settles into the new norm but have so far not had any restrictions on ordering raw materials or shipping containers, which is a better result than many would have expected at this point in the process.”
Koekemoer says milk is coming into OCD’s sites as usual and volumes are tracking at forecast.
The OCD team is in good spirits and they have quickly adopted the new measures, such as keeping a two-metre distance between one-another, under the new Alert 4 requirements.
Koekemoer says the customer perspective of OCD has been somewhat unaffected.
“From a customer perspective most of our markets are also operating as essential
services and customers continue to manufacture as normal in the food sector.
“Our sales team carries on selling as per our policy, and we see continued demand for dairy
products.”
However, OCD has had to put some of its growth on hold.
“The lockdown has created some challenges for our capital projects with all non-essential
projects now being put on hold and people being asked to isolate,” said Koekemoer.
“Our contractors are not sitting idle and are already working on a schedule to ensure we make good for the time lost once the lockdown is lifted, which gives us comfort that we will be able to resume work quickly when we are allowed to.”
With the current situation in the European farm machinery market being described as difficult at best, it’s perhaps no surprise that the upcoming AgriSIMA 2026 agricultural machinery exhibition, scheduled for February 2026 at Paris-Nord Villepinte, has been cancelled.
The Meat Industry Association of New Zealand (MIA) has launched the first in-market activation of the refreshed Taste Pure Nature country-of-origin brand with an exclusive pop-up restaurant experience in Shanghai.
Jayna Wadsworth, daughter of the late New Zealand wicketkeeper Ken Wadsworth, has launched an auction of cricket memorabilia to raise funds for I Am Hope's youth mental health work.
As we move into the 2025/26 growing season, the Tractor and Machinery Association (TAMA) reports that the third quarter results for the year to date is showing that the stagnated tractor market of the last 18 months is showing signs of recovery.
DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown is urging dairy farmers to participate in the 2026 Levy vote, to be held early next year.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling for nominations for director roles in the Eastern North Island and Southern South Island electoral districts.
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