Lower North Island farmers “cautiously optimistic” heading into winter – DairyNZ

He says weather conditions are 'benign' - meaning it's not been an amazing winter nor a terrible one and June has not been too cold.

"I think we are setting up to be in a really nice position for those who calve early," he told Dairy News.

Laurence says there are some who've got good covers in the region and farmers will be able to take that quality forward and feed their cows well, because farm conditions are good.

"I am quietly confident that if July is the same as June, farmers will get through winter well," he says.

But Laurence concedes that farmers in coastal regions of Taranaki, Manawatu and Horowhenua who were hit by drought will face challenges. He says many used supplements to get through the drought and says it's hard to generalise on the region as it comes down to the circumstances of individual farmers.

Laurence says there was a reasonable amount of supplement available in peripheral areas outside Taranaki and because of the high payout, those who were able to source this tended to buy it.

"But there will be some farmers who have used their winter feed and are now crossing their fingers that the weather gods will be kind to them. Others, however, may struggle," he says.

Now the weather has been good and Laurence says it is a good time to feed palm kernel expeller (PKE) to stock. He says he's seen tractors and utes going up and down roads hauling PKE troughs and that is a good sign.

The one thing that is still playing on dairy farmers' minds is what will happen in the next year. Laurence says the future payout looks good, but farmers are also conscious of the fact that there are rarely two good years in a row and, while optimistic, they are also realistic that with good come bad.