Tuesday, 18 February 2025 09:55

Milking on despite the dry

Written by  Peter Burke
James Allen James Allen

"Ask me in about three weeks’ time."

That’s the message from AgFirst chief executive James Allen in regards to the dry weather in NZ’s largest dairy region – the Waikato.

He says the Waikato is the driest it’s been for several years and there is every indication that it will be quite a dry summer. He says there has been virtually no rain since before Christmas, except for a few very isolated thunderstorms in the region resulting in a few farmers getting lucky.

“Generally, it is quite dry. Pasture covers are certainly low, and growth rates have declined and there is a fair amount of supplement being fed out at the moment,” he says.

Allen says because there is so much supplement around, production is holding up, but if the dry weather continues over the coming weeks the impact will become more pronounced. He says the maize harvesters are now on the road, so the first of the maize will be harvested and welcomed by some people.

“At this stage there is good reserves of supplement, and we are still planning to use a fair bit of supplement to milk on, but not to sacrifice next season, which is course is the critical point,” he says.

Allen says at this stage there is spare maize silage and grass silage around and the price of PKE is reasonable. He says farmers should set targets for what pasture covers should look like on June 1 and work back from there.

As for the rest of the country, Allen says the top of Northland got some good rain, but the lower half didn’t and is still quite dry.

“Taranaki is also reasonably dry, while the Tairawhiti and Hawke’s Bay have had rain and Canterbury is also looking pretty good,” he says.

But as he said earlier, time will tell.

More like this

Optimism in the air

Ag First chief executive James Allen says dairy farmer optimism is on the rise.

Featured

Editorial: Nitrate emergency?

OPINION: Environment Canterbury's (ECan) decision recently to declare a so-called “nitrate emergency” is laughable.

National

Machinery & Products

New McHale terra drive axle option

Well-known for its Fusion baler wrapper combination, Irish manufacturer McHale has launched an interesting option at the recent Irish Ploughing…

Amazone unveils flagship spreader

With the price of fertiliser still significantly higher than 2024, there is an increased onus on ensuring its spread accurately at…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Tough times

OPINION: Dairy industry players are also falling by the wayside as the economic downturn bites around the country.

MSA triumph

OPINION: Methane Science Accord, a farmer-led organisation advocating for zero tax on ruminant methane, will be quietly celebrating its first…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter