Strong production, tested demand send milk prices crashing
Strong global milk production and rebalancing of demand among key buyers has delivered one of the biggest drops in whole milk powder prices in recent years.
New Zealand dairy farmers woke up to some very good news. The overnight Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction recorded a massive jump in prices.
The GDT price index jumped 15% compared to the previous auction, its eighth consecutive price rise.
Whole milk powder prices, used by Fonterra to set its milk payout, rose a whopping 21% to US$4364/MT, a seven-year high.
AMF index up 7.4%, average price US$5,929/MT
Butter index up 13.7%, average price US$5,826/MT
BMP index down 0.3%, average price US$3,144/MT
Ched index up 1.3%, average price US$4,280/MT
LAC index up 4.9%, average price US$1,278/MT
SMP index up 3.5%, average price US$3,302/MT
SWP not offered
WMP index up 21.0%, average price US$4,364/MT
With Fonterra's UHT plant at its Edendale site less than a year from completion, demand continues to grow for products the plant will produce, such as Anchor Whipping Cream.
A new $50,000 scholarship fund designed to support and empower women in the New Zealand dairy industry through leadership development has been launched.
Many farmers around the country are taking advantage of the high dairy payout to get maximum production out of their cows.
In 2015, the signing of a joint venture between St Peter's School, Cambridge, and Lincoln University saw the start of an exciting new chapter for Owl Farm as the first demonstration dairy farm in the North Island. Ten years on, the joint venture is still going strong.
Sheep milk processor Maui Milk is on track to record average ewe production of 500 litres by 2030, says outgoing chief executive Greg Hamill.
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton is calling for cross-party consensus on the country's overarching environmental goals.