Dairy sheep and goat turmoil
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
Sheep milk company Maui Milk is looking for new farmer suppliers as demand soars.
The company has taken on four new independent suppliers in Waikato this season to complement milk from its own farms.
Maui Milk general manager operations Peter Gatley says the company needs a lot more milk to satisfy demand from Danone for its Karicare brand sheep infant formula.
One of the new conversions is a greenfield site development on a sheep farm; others involve fitting out existing herringbone sheds on dairy farms.
Gatley says the dairy farm conversion model, located within an hour’s drive of the powder plant at Innovation Park, is expected to be the backbone of industry growth.
He points out that there are 3800 dairy farms in the Waikato, with most able to incorporate sheep milking.
“Even the smaller ones have sufficient scale for sheep milking. They have a lot of milking infrastructure suitable for dairy and sheep – topography, fertility, small paddocks, races, water and effluent system,” he told Rural News.
See the full story in the next Rural News out October 20.
China’s Ambassador Wang Xiaolong says bilateral economic and trade cooperation between China and New Zealand has made significant and rapid progress.
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.