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Andrew Hoggard.
Feds dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard says the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction needs some CPR to shock it back into life.
"If you look more into the future, forward contracts were still pretty flat. Six months out it was still US$2200/t. We want to see prices get close to that US$3000/t mark so we can get things back to a nice level," he says.
"While everyone has brought their cost of production down, it is still very much hand to mouth at the moment."
He thinks many farmers are getting their costs down to the $3.50-$4/kgMS range.
"The challenge is if you've got $1/kgMS debt, then you are in a hard place," he says. "There are people with more than $1/kgMS debt so that makes the proposition for them extremely tough.
"It didn't fill me with confidence but it's not yet time to hit the gloom and doom panic button.
"It's bumbling along there and I think a lot of people would feel a lot more comfortable if we saw a couple of decent rises to give us more confidence, but at the moment it is not inspiring a great deal of confidence."
DCANZ information showed the North Island was down 5% and the South Island down 22% in June. But it is not an indication of a trend because of the small amount of production in that month anyway.
"Just a few people deciding winter milk wasn't worth it can alter that quite dramatically," he says.
Federated Farmers says new legislation replacing the Resource Management Act will cut red tape, unlock investment and help grow New Zealand's export-led economy, after the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill passed their third reading in Parliament yesterday.
Leading figures from the major political parties will be questioned on their primary sector policies at the Rural Issues Debate at Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton, on 30 September.
OPINION: Well, the silly season is upon us and all us politicians are running around shaking babies and kissing hands, or maybe the other way around.
Will the good times last? That's one of the key issues to come out of the latest Federated Farmers confidence survey.
It was billed as a chance for all the political parties to woo the rural vote, but question marks hang over just how effective this was.
Ravensdown shareholders have elected Jane Montgomery and Kate Acland to the Ravensdown Board for three-year terms, following a closely contested director election.
Federated Farmers says new legislation replacing the Resource Management Act will cut red tape, unlock investment and help grow New Zealand's export-led economy, after the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill passed their third reading in Parliament yesterday.
Leading figures from the major political parties will be questioned on their primary sector policies at the Rural Issues Debate at Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton, on 30 September.
OPINION: Have a plan in place now!
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) says it welcomes the passage of the Natural Environment Bill and Planning Bill, calling the bills a positive step for sheep and beef farmers.
A spate of southerly winds bringing cold temperatures has presented challenges for Taranaki dairy farmers.
OPINION: It seems Canterbury processor Synlait is still in the doldrums.
OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.
