Published since 1986
MARCH, 2021
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AI QUESTIONS ANSWERED AT RIDDELLVUE RIDDELLVUE Angus principal Ian Bates with the March 2021 sale bulls that went under the hammer at Riddellvue’s debut autumn sale. Stand-out quality genetics are at the forefront of all the stud’s enterprises, with Riddellvue recently hosting a sire selection event on-farm in Alexandra. With expert speakers lined up to present on sire selection and genetics, this was not the first time the event had run, with the stud responding to popular demand to schedule the day again. Turn to page 8 for a rundown on the sire selection day.
Lack of price step ups not necessarily bad thing DAIRY farmers have gone 32 weeks without a price increase from the big dairy processors, but some believe that the price step up itself is a relic of the past. Local farmer Jono Pethybridge believes that the industry was moving in a new direction when it came to how suppliers and
BY NATHAN DE VRIES ndevries@ nemedia.com.au
processors negotiate a price. “I think our industry has changed, ever since the new codes came in last June,” he said. “There still is potential
for a step up, but what we’re doing is: you get your price at the start, and that’s what you do your budget on and then if there’s any more along the way, that’s just cream on top. “Because of that competition at the start, it removes a lot of the leeway that the companies have to absorb the
pressure going forward. “So they don’t have a lot of room to move on pricing, because they’ve got to bring it up front, pay people up front and get them to sign on; once they’ve signed on, there’s not a lot of movement. “Going forward, there’s going to be a lot less step ups and a lot less volatility
in our pricing; they can’t go backwards from the minimum price and they’re not going to go up unless there’re some really big changes in the market. “I don’t see a lot of movement in prices any time soon.” With the new dairy codes under a year old, and the sale of farmer-owned co-op
Murray Goulburn back in 2018, the dairy industry is in uncharted territory. “Everyone sort of followed the big co-op of Murray Goulburn, they followed their pricing along and they knew that they didn’t have to pay much more than MG,” Mr Pethybridge said. ■ Continaued page 2
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