Last weeks cold snap was a reminder that plenty of winter is yet to come, and a recalculation of feed reserves may be needed as the demand increases with the very cold conditions.
Most herds are now dried off and are in the winter break with BCS goals for calving, and advisers urge managers to keep a look out for clinical signs of mastitis in cows.
At present feed grains and palm kernel are in good supply and relatively cheap, but with the recent weather demand can change fast, so managers should continually be planning well ahead.
El Nino signs are still being witnessed in the global weather patterns, and such an occurrence in the new season may bring more weather challenges to east coast locations desperate for a recharge of groundwater and stored lake levels.
There has now has been seven consecutive falls for dairy commodities traded via the auction platform, and analysts predict little upward movement until this year’s stocks are consumed, and offer little hope trade will resume with Russia.
They are however suggesting that powder prices maybe near the bottom as European SMP is near the intervention level, and imported milk powders are cheaper than the domestic raw milk price in China.
Fonterra shareholders are not only grumpy with the predicted milk price for next year, but are also angry that their share values are nearly half what they were 2 years ago.
Interestingly in Australia, the Warrambool Cheese and Butter dairy company announced a payout of $6.10 ms equivalent for the 2014/15 season, a rate all NZ farmers will look on with envy.
Synlait has announced a premium of 25c/kgms for grass fed milk that will be produced into infant formula in partnership with an American company, and as farmers refine their systems to lower costs around pasture, more farmers could look at this opportunity.
The Chinese dairy Company Yili, owners of Oceania dairy, have established a new research and development centre at Lincoln University, as both organizations look to develop new ideas in processing, food safety, and on farm management.
The importance of body condition scores in animals are emphasized with an announcement they are to become a breeding trait, scored in the breeding worth of dairy cows from February 2016.
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