Bank's desire to be part of the solution
ASB says the decision to sign on to the AgriZeroNZ joint venture came out of a wish to be a part of the solution.
The Global Dairy Trade lift overnight of 2.6% is broadly in line with expectations, says ASB rural economist Nathan Guy.
The overnight lift was the third auction out of the last four to record a price lift.
However, by product the auction was more mixed relative to expectations, he says in his 'Quickview' outline.
"Key WMP prices rose bang in line with expectations, while the anticipated jump in SMP prices was absent (futures prices had hinted at a lift in excess of 5%). Instead, SMP prices actually fell 0.9%.
"Elsewhere, butter milk powder (up 16.2%) and anhydrous milk fat (up 4.9%) regained some of their recently lost ground. Butter prices posted a 3% increase, while casein (up 0.3%) also lifted marginally. Cheddar (down 0.8%) was the other main product we monitor to post a fall."
In terms of the price outlook, the auction result is somewhat moot given this was the smallest auction for the year, he says. ASB is sticking to its $3.90/kgMS forecast for 2015/16.
Attention now quickly turns to 2016/17. Fonterra provides its new season forecast next Thursday. And while we expect the milk price to ultimately end at $6/kgMS, Fonterra's starting point forecast for the season will be much lower.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.