FEATURE SUPPLEMENT 23
www.age.co.nz Thursday, June 22, 2023
2023DAIRY FA R M I N G INTO THE FUTURE
Dairy farmers are doing their best in unhelpful conditions Good past seasons are helping dairy farmers cope with a tough period now, says BakerAg Managing Director Chris Lewis.
A specialist dairy consultant, Chris is editor of Milklines, a monthly report for dairy farmers and rural professionals.
This year there are a number of drivers squeezing the industry, Chris says.
“There is a drop in commodity prices, in˜ ation is continuing to push up operating costs to record levels, and interest rates have doubled from where they were two seasons ago.
“Most dairy farmers have been here before, but some new ones are dealing with it for the ÿ rst time. “Many farmers took advantage of the stronger cash situation two seasons ago to reduce their
debt levels, but right now day to day operating costs have to be pruned hard and there is little room for discretionary spending.” The weather hasn’t helped dairy farmers either, Chris points out. “It has been very tough for farmers with extreme wet conditions last spring, and even
“Everyone enjoyed a particularly good season two seasons ago with high milk prices and the cost of production initially slow to rise.”
in summer and autumn some places struggled with ˜ ooding and heavy soils. “On the positive side, there has been good late season pasture growth and most still have good supplementary feed on hand. “Both farmers and cows are wellprepared for winter.” Chris expects farmers to keep a tight hand on spending for the foreseeable future, with fertilizer and supplementary feed use down to a basic level.
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