With very little rain from Napier to Dunedin autumn pasture growth rates have plummeted with the only saving grace being the mild conditions.
Last weekend’s rain was minimal and while dryland crops have withstood the lack of moisture well, they alone will make winter feeding difficult.
Irrigated properties and those that have had rain look a picture, benefitting from the mild conditions and lack of wind.
With a late El Nino occurring in many other dairy areas, early dry off decisions will need to be made to protect next seasons production, with light and low producing cows being dried off first.
Another hard decision will be how much should be spent on preventative mastitis medications for cows at the end of milking, and dairy advisers suggest vet advice will be important as cutting costs here may have a significant effect on next years production.
The negotiations between graziers and dairy managers continues with some rates mentioned not sustainable for those growing feed.
More deals need to be made which will reward those reaching liveweight targets on time, body condition scores by calving, and low empty rates in new calving heifers.
Feed volumes available are variable between districts and amount of irrigated crops grown, and some will need to add in the cost of cartage with the cheaper feed further away.
Officials have now stated that the velvet leaf incursion will not be able to be eradicated in one season as some seed has been dispersed and will need to be controlled by chemicals in the future.
Fonterra have announced a new auction system to complement the Global Dairy Trade event.
This platform covers the vast array of dairy products, is open 24/7, and allows purchasers to buy smaller packages confidentially, in a global shop set up.
The optimistic ASB followed the auction with a predicted forecast of near $5/kg ms for this year and $6 for next.
Fonterra plans for their governance review to reduce the directors from 13 to 11 with the majority being farmers, has met with a muted response with change proponents.
Yashili has launched their infant formula onto the NZ market to increase the competition for added value products in the domestic market.
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12 Comments
MG makes a milk-price u-turn, spills the head man and offers supplier funding - units down 34% by lunch, Fonterra milk from Oz should cost less units up 1 %.
read it here:
http://www.interest.co.nz/rural-news/81178/keith-woodford-says-predicti…
The current governance review is one more nail in the coffin of decline for Fonterra and the cooperative dairy structure in NZ. A good opinion from Alan Emerson offering a counterpoint to our own self congratulatory review panel.
MG comment has been round a theme of Gary the Dairy Price Bull.
Seems there is a background story.
We might learn something here...
Murray Goulburn's senior executives – including outgoing chief Gary Helou – were paid short-term incentives to keep the milk price high, a situation that has proved unsustainable and burdened the unit trust with high debt levels that some analysts have flagged as concerning.
According to the prospectus, high milk prices were a "gateway" condition, or a requirement that had to be met before short-term incentives could be paid to senior executives.
The incentive framework raises further questions about the structure of Murray Goulburn's unit trust, which this week slashed earnings forecasts and said it would reduce the milk prices paid to farmers.
http://m.smh.com.au/business/how-murray-goulburn-executives-milked-it-2…
Note the China import mix comment
and its a swing and a miss- strike 2.
The Federal Treasurer has all but knocked back the current proposal for the sale of Australia's largest cattle empire to a foreign-led consortium. Scott Morrison said his "preliminary view" was that the deal to sell S. Kidman and Co to Dakang Australia Holdings was "contrary to the national interest".
Earlier this month, Dakang lodged a $370 million bid to buy the company. It came after Mr Morrison rejected an initial bid for Kidman by a related Chinese company, Pengxin Group.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-29/sale-of-s.-kidman-&-co-'contrary-…
some policy thoughts:
“I have today made my concerns known to the applicant and provided them with a natural justice period in which they may respond and consider how they wish to proceed. The applicant shall have until next Tuesday 3 May 2016 to respond.”
The treasurer added that he’d formed the view that the business, Australia’s largest private land holding, covering 1.3% of Australia’s total land area, and 2.5% of the nation’s agricultural land, may simply be too big for a local buyer.
“I have concerns that the form in which the Kidman portfolio has been offered as a single aggregated asset, has rendered it difficult for Australian bidders to be able to make a competitive bid. The size of the asset makes it difficult for any single Australian group to acquire the entire operation,” Morrison said.
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/scott-morrison-blocks-kidman-cattle-s…
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/s-kidman--co-cattle-empire-sal…
Failed Crafar farms bidder May Wang has been found guilty of fraud charges in Hong Kong over attempts to buy the North Island properties.
Wang, 53, and her two co-accused were convicted by a jury on Friday, Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said in a statement.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11631…
ICAC. There is an interesting concept....
And the amazing thing Henry is that Changming He who was co- Chair of Natural Dairy until June 2009 a shareholder whilst May Wang was there , who then became Chairman of Pengxin International Mining , Shanghai Pengxins listed mining arm , and the company that went on to acquire the Crafer farms , and the OIO was led to believe that Shanghai Pengxin did its own due diligence.
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