High dairy payouts fuel record milk production across NZ
Many farmers around the country are taking advantage of the high dairy payout to get maximum production out of their cows.
Farm consultant Lochie MacGillivray says farm system changes will be needed to meet new winter grazing regulations.
A Hawke's Bay-based farm consultant reckons there will be a need for farm system changes next season in order for farmers to meet new winter grazing regulations.
Agfirst's Lochie MacGillivray says while farmers in the region are responding to the new requirements, many are still learning how to manage the situation and all the requirements are not yet being met. MacGillivray believes most farmers are working out how they will cope next year.
"Some of the paddocks where they have extensively winter grazed, they won't be able to in the future because of slope. How they manage that going forward is something that is in the back of their minds," he told Rural News.
"They are thinking about the paddocks they have got to turn over or cultivate now and there are question marks around that which haven't been resolved."
MacGillivray says some farmers will sell their stock earlier to avoid having to graze them in winter, while others may cultivate and crop the easy country for a while. Others, he adds, may try and take stock through and graze off pasture - although that might come under the new freshwater plans as well.
"It's all a bit noisy and confused up here. The Government might have a clear idea in their minds about what they want, but how that is implemented on the ground is not clear," he adds.
"For example, I believe that regional councils haven't worked out how they are going to police the regulations because they don't have the staff resource to do that."
From Drought To Deluge
Lochie MacGillivray says it's been a fairly wet July in Hawke's Bay with some areas having received twice the rainfall of previous years.
He says water tables are high - if not at record levels - and this has potentially slowed down pasture growth because soils are very wet.
"This means that pasture utilisation starts to slip off a bit as paddocks get muddy," he explains. "Having said that, we went into the winter with really good pastures covers and that was maintained through June - so there is no concern about a lack of feed for stock, although some farmers are feeding out or speeding up their rotations to avoid pugging."
MacGillivray says generally stock health is quite good but scanning is a bit mixed with some good and some moderate results. He says lambing will be good, but doubts whether it will be a record year.
"The worry for farmers at present is getting stock killed, because there is still waiting time with bobby calves talking precedence for killing space," he told Rural News.
"Some farmers were taking lambs to heavier weights and that's kind of limited their opportunities in terms of marketing because these lambs are almost potentially too heavy."
According to ASB, Fonterra's plan to sell it's Anchor and Mainlands brands could inject $4.5 billion in additional spending into the economy.
New Zealand’s trade with the European Union has jumped $2 billion since a free trade deal entered into force in May last year.
The climate of uncertainty and market fragmentation that currently characterises the global economy suggests that many of the European agricultural machinery manufacturers will be looking for new markets.
Dignitaries from all walks of life – the governor general, politicians past and present, Maoridom- including the Maori Queen, church leaders, the primary sector and family and friends packed Our Lady of Kapiti’s Catholic church in Paraparaumu on Thursday October 23 to pay tribute to former prime Minister, Jim Bolger who died last week.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Todd McClay is encouraging farmers, growers, and foresters not to take unnecessary risks, asking that they heed weather warnings today.
With nearly two million underutilised dairy calves born annually and the beef price outlook strong, New Zealand’s opportunity to build a scalable dairy-beef system is now.

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