Data sharing initiative wins national award for saving farmers time
The work Fonterra has done with Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, LIC and Ravensdown to save farmers time through better data connections has been recognised with a national award.
FONTERRA'S FORECAST for 2014/15 has fallen lower than expected, says Federated Farmers at $6/kgMS.
A dividend of 20-25 cents per share helps to soften things for a fully shared up farmer.
"The revision has turned our season from being 'lite' to 'super trim,' says Andrew Hoggard, Federated Farmers Dairy chair.
"While the size of the drop is a surprise the revision wasn't, given GlobalDairyTrade's slide over much of the current season. Several weeks ago we agreed with the banks it could be in the $6 to 6.25/kgMS range but we thought it would have been a less severe haircut.
"It means farmers will need to watch costs closely and cut their cloth accordingly. It means getting back on the computer to reforecast farm budgets. One thing for sure, the margin between operating costs and revenue has appreciably closed up.
"We recommend farmers talk to their bank manager, farm consultant and accountant. These days we can't burn the chequebook, but some may be deleting their online banking apps.
"Given half of what we get paid is spent locally, this will impact the towns but the cities are not immune.
"It is not all doom and gloom as we are confident the payout will progressively lift as the season unfolds. Rabobank expects the first half we're currently in will remain flat, but some price recovery should kick in towards the end of this year and into 2015.
"I think you will find we are in a season of two-halves. The first half isn't flash but after half time and the market equivalent of a few oranges, we'll be back on form.
"This is not the death of dairying and nor is it anything to do with food scares either. It simply reflects a near perfect production season in Australasia, North America and Europe. It is classic supply and demand set against a world which is barely producing enough milk.
"There is also some good news coming from the beef side of dairying. Beef and veal values are up by 5.8% in the nine months to June. That's off the back of good demand coming from Asia and highlights how diversified we increasingly are.
"If farmers are revising payouts to cut their cloth then political parties heading into the election ought to be revising polices the same," Hoggard says.
Fonterra's forecast milk price payout for the last (2013/14) season is $8.40 kg/MS.
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
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