Dairy sector shows resilience

Released last week by DairyNZ and Livestock Improvement Corporation, the report shows that in the 2021-22 season, 20.78 billion litres of milk containing 1.87 billion kgMS was processed by dairy companies.

After reaching a record milk production per herd and per cow in the previous 2020/21 season, production dropped back to 2019/20 levels as the impacts of Covid-19, climatic conditions on farm, inflationary pressures and supply chain issues presented a challenging year for the industry.

The trend of declining cow and herd numbers continued and was accompanied by a 4.3% decrease in litres and 4.1% decrease in kilograms of milksolids processed, compared to the previous season.

DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle acknowledges that farmers' achievements in the face of a range of challenges in recent years is positive.

"Through tough times farmers continue to prove their resilience and stay focused on milking better and more efficient cows, by making the most of technology and information," says Mackle.

"Dairy farmers are proud to be world leading and work hard to retain their unique pasture-based farm system, as they keep milk production flowing and therefore creating real value for New Zealanders."

The season saw an increased uptake of herd improvement services, with record herd testing levels of 3.79 million cows. Artificial insemination remained steady at 3.94 million cows.

This continues the trend of New Zealand farmers remaining focused on improving the production efficiency of their herds, and utilising data and insights to support on-farm decisions.

LIC chief executive David Chin says New Zealand farmers responded well to the challenges of the 2021-22 season.

"Rising to challenges in a changing world is nothing new for our sector. Our farmers continue to invest in solutions that will support them to remain global dairy sector leaders.

"Record levels of herd testing uptake and strong investment in artificial breeding demonstrates a continued focus from farmers on herd improvement, to identify poor performing cows and to breed more efficient animals."

The average dairy co-operative payout from Fonterra and Tatua was $9.52/kgMS, which was a record average payout for farmers, while dairy exports reached a record $22 billion in 2021/22.

Key Statistics

• The dairy sector produced 20.78 billion litres of milk containing 1.87 billion kgMS - a 4.3% (929 million litres) decrease in litres and a 41.% (79 million kg) decrease in milksolids processed compared with the previous season.
• Average milk production per cow was 386kgMS (made up of 261kg milkfat and 169kg protein), a 2.9% decrease from 397kg last season and back to similar levels as 2019/20 season.
• Cow numbers have continued to decline, down to 4.84 million, a decrease of 1.26% from the previous season.
• A total of 3.79 million cows were herd tested (78.3% of cows) - a new record.
• 3.942 million cows were mated to artificial breeding.
• The average dairy co-operative payout of $9.52/kgMS was the highest average payout on record, increasing from $7.76 in the previous season.