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Going up! Urea prices have jumped by nearly 25% recently to $1,190/tonne.
Federated Farmers vice president Chris Lewis claims farmers won't be making much money this year, despite a record forecast milk price.
He says fertiliser prices have jumped 100%, wage bills are up 20% and hiring tradesmen has become more expensive.
Lewis says "market forces" mean farmers must pay more to retain staff in a labour-squeezed market.
While the record forecast payout must be celebrated and provides a buffer against rising costs, he doesn't expect too many farmers to end up with a large surplus this season.
He points out that recent surveys found farmer confidence still low.
"With the strong payout we should see higher farmer confidence but that's not the case," he told Rural News.
"Farmers are not thinking about dollars. While the high milk price is a cause for celebration, high inflationary costs are a major cause for worry for some farmers."
Last month, DairyNZ solutions and development lead adviser Paul Bird urged farmers to use strong milk price to pay off debt and be better prepared to withstand shocks.
Speaking at the online DairyNZ Farmers Forum, Bird noted that while industry debt had dropped to $38 billion, reducing it further would be "a good thing".
"The average dairy farm is still made up of half debt and half equity. That's still quite a big chunk of debt," noted Bird.
Farms with returns of around 5% would come under pressure if interest rates rose to 5% and beyond.
Bird says paying debt puts farmers in a good position to withstand shocks.
It also puts farmers in a solid place if they are "looking for the next opportunity to grow in dairying".
Lewis says farmers have been hearing this message for the past five years from the banks.
New Zealand's pest problem has reached crisis point, according to Federated Farmers' second National Pests Survey, which shows farmers are spending more money and effort on control — yet pest numbers keep climbing faster than they were two years ago.
Despite political shenanigans in Wellington, farmers are confident that Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms will get over the line in this term of Parliament.
The Government has announced it will pause key parts of Waikato Plan Change 1 (PC1) in a decision that is set to give Waikato farmers a reprieve from new consenting and farm-planning requirements while the wider resource management system is overhauled.
Plan ahead and be patient. That’s the message to farmers and horticulturalists from the chairman of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association, Kent Weir.
Amazone's ZG-TX combi spreader has been updated with several new features, centred around improved accuracy and easier operation.
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to put pressure on household grocery budgets, new figures show pork remains one of the most affordable fresh meat options for New Zealand families.
OPINION: In politics, credibility is and should be big. It must surely rank higher than charisma, which is quite trite and superficial. Yet, voters nowadays are often wooed and influenced by how someone looks or talks at a superficial level. TV plays a huge role in this.
Farmers can spend less time on paperwork, thanks to a new data sharing agreement between DairyNZ’s DairyBase and LIC’s MINDA software.
Kaikōura families affected by July's severe storm have found a practical solution to a problem that's kept some children away from regular schooling for weeks: a washed-out section of Inland Kaikōura Road, which has stopped the local school bus from running its usual route.
Rural New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s recent package of rural healthcare initiatives.
Interest in agritech and production animal systems has prompted Massey University's School of Agriculture and the Environment to new majors to its popular animal science degree.
