Rewarding farmers who embrace sustainability
Winners of DairyNZ’s Sustainability and Stewardship awards in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards have their eyes firmly fixed on progressing a positive future for New Zealand dairy.
The dairy industry contributed 37% of the total value of New Zealand's primary exports in 2014-15, according to DairyNZ.
This was revealed last week at DairyNZ's annual meeting in Morrinsville.
Dairy earnings for the year totalled $13.2 billion. Waikato remains the dairy heartland with 34% of the herds; it produced $2.4b of milk last year.
The Waikato's 4020 dairy herds produced 518m kgMS in 2014-15, 27% of NZ's total milk production. But Waikato's $2.4b earnings were down $1.8b on the 2013-14 season when the high milk price ($8.47 average payout) boosted the region's coffers by $4.2b.
Outgoing DairyNZ chairman John Luxton says the 2014-15 season's low milk price has affected all farms as owners and sharemilkers strove to remain profitable.
"The value of milk production to Waikato's economy is huge; the region takes a big hit when farmers do," says Luxton.
The North Island had 74% of herds, producing 59% of total milksolids; the South Island 26% of herds but produced 41% of milksolids.
The industry employed 40,730 people during the year; 27,830 worked on farms and 12,900 in processing and wholesaling.
The total number of herds reached 11,970; average herd size was 419. Last year the industry had 5 million cows.
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.
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