Only two weeks after a dollar was wiped off the forecast milk payout, another 25 cents has been cut today, sending shockwaves through the West Coast farming community.
Dairy farmers around the country say they will be tightening their belts after international dairy prices crashed to their lowest levels in nearly five years.
Dairy prices crashed to their lowest levels in nearly five years at the Global Dairy Trade auction overnight, led by a 10.9% fall in the price of whole milk powder.
Dairy farmers are juggling stretched farm budgets after Fonterra made one of its deepest cuts to its forecast payout for the 2023/24 season because of reduced Chinese demand.
Drastic action, including banning dairy farming expansion in some areas, is needed to clean up some of Otago’s polluted rivers, an Otago Regional Council report says.
During a tour of wintering barns last week, Shawn McAvinue was at the two tour stops in Eastern Southland to hear why dairy farmers were investing in the infrastructure.
Southern dairy farmers Dylan Lynch and Natasha Maybee, of Lyncrest Dairies Ltd in Invercargill, were given an award for their 3-year-old cow Lyncrest Sidekick Lucy-ET gaining the highest points in...