Bakers prefer butter, helping prices soar
Consumers around the world are willing to pay more for products containing dairy and this is driving demand for butter and cream, says Fonterra.
The country now has more than six million dairy cattle, an increase partly driven by higher milk solid payouts, Statistics New Zealand says.
The number of dairy cattle increased by 259,000 in the year ended 30 June 2011, according to the annual Agriculture Production Survey, with most of the increase in the South Island.
"The North Island regions tend to be mature dairy farming areas and so have small annual increases. It is in the South Island regions that we are seeing the big increases, particularly in Canterbury," agricultural statistics manager Hamish Hill says.
Continued high primary produce prices influenced how farmers managed their stock. Higher payouts for milk solids were behind the continuing increase in dairy cattle numbers. Higher beef and venison prices meant farmers sent more stock for slaughter – this can be seen in the lower numbers for beef cattle and deer in the year to 30 June 2011.
The 2011 Agricultural Production Survey is a sample survey of information from farmers and foresters. The 2011 survey covers land use, animal farming (livestock), horticultural and arable crop growing, forestry, and farming practices in New Zealand (including fertiliser and cultivation). The survey was conducted in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Fieldays 2025 opens this week with organisers saying the theme, 'Your Place', highlights the impact the event has on agriculture both in the Southern Hemisphere and across the globe.
Sam Carter, assistant manager for T&G's Pakowhai Sector, has been named the Hawke's Bay 2025 Young Grower of the Year.
The CEO of Apples and Pears NZ, Karen Morrish, says the strategic focus of her organisation is to improve grower returns.
A significant breakthrough in understanding facial eczema (FE) in livestock brings New Zealand closer to reducing the disease’s devastating impact on farmers, animals, and rural communities.
Farmer co-operative LIC has closed its satellite-backed pasture measurement platform – Space.
OPINION: The case of four Canterbury high country stations facing costly and complex consent hearing processes highlights the dilemma facing the farming sector as the country transitions into a replacement for the Resource Management Act (RMA).
OPINION: The Free Speech Union is taking this one too far.
OPINION: New national data from The Drug Detection Agency (TDDA), a leading workplace drug tester, shows methamphetamine (meth) use is…