Dairying

Desire signalled to rebuild farmer trust

The Otago Regional Council is keen to repair the damaged trust between some of the region's farmers and the council after concerns about rising charges and communication issues were highlighted this week.

Gains for farmers in water plan mediation

Working on a ''collaborative approach'' to deliver better water quality. Photo from ODT files.

Gains for farmers in water plan mediation

The Otago Regional Council deserves credit for its water plan, writes farmer Stephen Korteweg.

Dairying also warned on debt

Dairying also warned on debt

The developing housing bubble remains the Reserve Bank's prime debt concern, but a shot has also been fired across the bows of the heavily indebted dairy sector.

Dairy scheme's public investment aim

A new dairy investment targeting farm-by-farm acquisition has been launched.

Dairy-dominated debt easing

A significant slowdown in agricultural debt growth is being attributed to the strong New Zealand dollar, stagnant land prices, and a move to lower funding costs for a large number of farms.

Dairy prices soar on drought

Dairy prices soar on drought

Dairy prices soared to record levels in this week's GlobalDairyTrade auction as drought hits local milk production, and it is predicted total production could drop for the first time in five years.

Dairy prices rise 1%

A lift of 1% in dairy prices partly offset the fall in broader commodity prices in the latest ANZ commodity price index.

600 due at dairy event

Interest from dairy farmers has led to expectations of a capacity crowd at the South Island Dairy Event (Side) in Dunedin this week.

Fonterra buys milk-processing factory

Fonterra's acquisition of the New Zealand Dairies Ltd's milk-processing factory at Studholme has been described as "absolutely the best news" for the Waimate community.

Water plan takes stock

Dairy cows in a paddock in the Kakanui River catchment.

Water plan takes stock

Seven weeks ago the Otago Regional Council introduced a "suite" of new farm effluent rules designed to consign to history the unfortunate term "dirty dairying".

Dairy cows increase to 6.17m

National dairy cow numbers have surpassed six million, with Otago's herd increasing 17% by 46,000 cows to 308,000 last year.

Dairy prices drop 4.5%

Prices of dairy products on Fonterra's overnight online auction dropped 4.5% this week - the biggest decrease since July last year - indicating why the dairy co-operative last week lowered its forecast payout for the 2011-12 season.

Current account boost not expected to last

Record high dairy export volumes helped reduce New Zealand's current account deficit in the three months ended December but there are warning signals that the boost will not be long lasting.

Uneven expansion in dairying

The global dairy sector looks set to be characterised by a future of solid market growth, but that growth will be unevenly spread, generating important new dynamics, a new industry report from Rabobank shows.

Cautious optimism in much of sector

Farmer confidence has remained at relatively high levels throughout 2011, largely on the back of above-average commodity prices, but global economic uncertainty remains top of mind.

No funding for milk research

No funding for milk research

University of Otago health researchers have been unable to attract $700,000 from the dairy industry for further study into a possible link between the consumption of milk and reduced bowel cancer rates.

Dairy resource consent consultation agreed

Environment Southland has committed to introducing a policy that will require new dairy conversions to gain a resource consent from next April, and to consult intensively between now and then on the details.