Managing director Hamish Keith said the restrictions of Alert Level 4 affected that plan and others.
"With having a lockdown we didn’t have a chance to manufacture some of the products we’d sell in the winter.
"We’ve caught up with a bit of that, but we probably do need more staff for that."
The dairy industry seemed to be holding back a bit when it came to spending.
"It’s a hell of a lot quieter than it was this time last year.
"There was just a bit of uncertainty about how long the lockdown was going to be and what the different levels ... what impact they were going to have.
Forward planning was "thrown out the window".
Mr Keith employs 15 full-time staff around Balclutha and Momona.
He was looking "seriously" at the apprenticeship scheme being offered by the Government where employers would get $1000 per month for each apprentice in their first year of training.
But, a shortage of houses in Balclutha was making Mr Keith anxious about offering work to anyone.
"It’s all very well. We can get an airplane pilot to come fix milking machines but ... [there is] no place to live."
And he had doubts young people were prepared to fix equipment on dairy farms.
