Fonterra lifts forecast milk price mid-point, advance rate
Fonterra has bumped up its forecast farmgate milk price for the season on the back of rising commodity prices and a strong balance sheet.
NONE OF the proposed changes to the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act will reduce the retail price of milk, say farmers.
Federated Farmers Dairy chairperson Willy Leferink says not one of the changes proposed to the DIRA by the Government will make milk any cheaper in the supermarkets.
He says some supermarkets are selling 2 litre milk at $3.
"At that price, it is identical to what Cole's has been selling milk for in Australia, once you take out our GST and exchange rate differences.
"What concerns me is that people seem to think farmers get all of the value from retail milk sales. I can tell you our share in a one litre carton of retail milk is around 360 millilitres.
"If someone's skimming the cream I'd suggest looking harder at the wholesale and retail ends. How come one supermarket can sell two litres of milk for $3 but another sells an identical bottle for $3.72?
"That's where the margins are, instead of the farmer who produce the milk in the first place."
Leferink wants more competition among supermarkets and processors.
"Precious few of the processors who take this milk, bottle it and then put it onto the shelves of supermarkets or dairies. Too few of these processors get milk from the farmgate and compete locally as they do internationally. We really need to know why," he says.
Acclaimed fruit grower Dean Astill never imagined he would have achieved so much in the years since being named the first Young Horticulturist of the Year, 20 years ago.
The Ashburton-based Carrfields Group continues to show commitment to future growth and in the agricultural sector with its latest investment, the recently acquired 'Spring Farm' adjacent to State Highway 1, Winslow, just south of Ashburton.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.

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