Repeat $10 milk price forecast
With a record $10-plus/kgMS milk price almost locked in for this season, next season isn’t looking too shabby either.
The Global Dairy Trade lift overnight of 2.6% is broadly in line with expectations, says ASB rural economist Nathan Guy.
The overnight lift was the third auction out of the last four to record a price lift.
However, by product the auction was more mixed relative to expectations, he says in his 'Quickview' outline.
"Key WMP prices rose bang in line with expectations, while the anticipated jump in SMP prices was absent (futures prices had hinted at a lift in excess of 5%). Instead, SMP prices actually fell 0.9%.
"Elsewhere, butter milk powder (up 16.2%) and anhydrous milk fat (up 4.9%) regained some of their recently lost ground. Butter prices posted a 3% increase, while casein (up 0.3%) also lifted marginally. Cheddar (down 0.8%) was the other main product we monitor to post a fall."
In terms of the price outlook, the auction result is somewhat moot given this was the smallest auction for the year, he says. ASB is sticking to its $3.90/kgMS forecast for 2015/16.
Attention now quickly turns to 2016/17. Fonterra provides its new season forecast next Thursday. And while we expect the milk price to ultimately end at $6/kgMS, Fonterra's starting point forecast for the season will be much lower.
Farms from Northland and northern Hawke's Bay are the finalists in this year's Ahuwhenua Trophy competition for the top Māori sheep and beef farms.
An outright sale of Fonterra’s global consumer business is more likely than a float, says Forsyth Barr senior analyst equities, Matt Montgomerie.
Buoyed by a survey showing farmer confidence rising to its highest level in over a decade, Federated Farmers says it's not taking its foot off the pedal.
This year won't be an easy one for the red meat sector, says Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva.
Farmlands says that improved half-year results show that the co-op’s tight focus on supporting New Zealand’s farmers and growers is working.
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) says that discovery of a male Oriental fruit fly on Auckland’s North Shore is a cause for concern for growers.
OPINION: Australian dairy is bracing for the retirement of an iconic dairy brand.
OPINION: Another sign that the plant-based dairy fallacy is unravelling and that nothing beats dairy-based products.