Record final milk price for Miraka suppliers
Farmers supplying milk to Taupo-based processor Miraka are getting a 2024-25 season base milk price of $10.16/kgMS.
NZ’s second-biggest dairy processing company says it is taking a pragmatic and cautious approach, as it deals with the impact of COVID-19.
In the latest TalkMilk newsletter to shareholders, Open Country Dairy (OCD) chairman Laurie Margrain says the company’s balance sheet is in an ‘extremely conservative position’ and it will continue to preserve capital.
However, he says this does not mean OCD will not consider investments that will ‘enhance the future capacity of the business to perform strongly and pay suppliers well’.
Margrain adds that the company’s approach has always been to value capital highly and only invest when it can see clear and obvious benefits to all stakeholders – including its farmer suppliers.
“That being the case, we are taking a very cautious approach to the investment plans we currently have,” he explains. “We have continued to make all the required preparations for those investments, but we are being cautious for now.”
Margrain says paying farmer suppliers earlier than other dairy companies remains the company’s paramount focus.
“We were pleased to do so again in late March,” he wrote. “Your financial health is important and working to benefit your cash flows is our priority.”
Meanwhile, Margrain told farmer supplier it was pointless trying to predict the timeframe and steps of the current COVID-19 situation.
“We can only control what we can, have belief in the fact we will come out of this and do your best for New Zealand.”
He says dairy farmers may even get to enjoy the fact that the sector is now getting more credit for the positive aspects of its importance to New Zealand.
Like many manufacturers around the world, European agricultural machinery and tractor manufacturers are currently operating in a difficult market environment. But they are heading to the world’s largest agricultural machinery event in Hanover next month with a degree of cautious optimism.
Established in 2021, the John Deere Technician of the Year Awards champion the important contribution parts and service technicians make to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture, construction and forestry industries.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
OPINION: Dairy industry players are also falling by the wayside as the economic downturn bites around the country.
OPINION: Methane Science Accord, a farmer-led organisation advocating for zero tax on ruminant methane, will be quietly celebrating its first…