US remains important market - Fonterra
Fonterra says the US continues to be an important market for New Zealand dairy and the co-op.
DairyNZ chairman Michael Spaans says after three “very tough” years, things are looking better for farmers.
He says while wet weather continues to wreak havoc on farms throughout the country, on the milk price front things are looking much better.
Spaans made the comments while opening the DairyNZ Farmers Forum in Taranaki today; about 120 Taranaki farmers are attending the day-long event.
Fonterra’s farmgate milk price for 2016-17 season stands at $6/kgMS, compared to $3.90/kgMS last season. The co-op will announce its forecast payout for the new season, starting June 1, on Wednesday.
Spaans, who stepped down from the Fonterra board earlier this year after a health scare, believes a $6 payout is “fairly solid” for this season.
But he says conditions on farm remain tough- wet weather has been quite a challenge.
“Spring was extremely wet- not only in Taranaki but right across North Island and South island,” he says.
“Autumn has been wetter, particularly in my neck of the woods – in east Waikato where I farm- we have had probably half our annual rainfall in the last two months.”
Flooding in Edgecumbe also affected dairy farmers earlier this year.
New tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump signal an uncertain future, but New Zealand farmers know how to adapt to changing conditions, says Auriga Martin, chief executive of Farm Focus.
A global trade war beckons, which is bad news for a small open economy like New Zealand, warns Mark Smith ASB senior economist.
Carterton's Awakare Farm has long stood as a place where family, tradition and innovation intersect.
Fonterra says the US continues to be an important market for New Zealand dairy and the co-op.
Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says New Zealand's trade interests are best served in a world where trade flows freely.
New Zealand's red meat sector says it is disappointed by the United States' decision to impose tariffs on New Zealand exports.
OPINION: Is it the beginning of the end for Greenpeace?
OPINION: The good times felt across the dairy sector weren't lost at last week's Beef + Lamb NZ annual meeting.