Taranaki farmers face uncertain outlook despite grass growth after drought
The grass may be growing again in the drought-stricken coastal area of Taranaki, but the outlook for many farmers there is far from rosy.
Reports from many regions say the green grass seen on farms in January has now turned brown.
Certainly this is so on the east coast of both the North and South Islands.
In Waikato, the farm consultancy company AgFirst says things are looking dry on farm. Steven Howarth told Rural News they had a good spring and summer with plenty of feed. But this has burnt off and the promised rain that fell a week ago wasn’t the quantity they were looking for.
“The conditions have created some challenges for farmers with some struggling to get space at processing plants to get their stock killed,” he says.
Howarth says lamb performance has also been variable: good growth rates for some while others struggle with the dry conditions.
Beef cattle have had a good summer, says Agfirst, but now the challenge is getting stock killed after farmers held them back to put on extra weight.
With rain and warm temperatures, the warning is out to farmers to monitor spore counts as there is a risk of facial eczema in some regions, notably the King Country.
“But countering that some cold spells have reduced the risk,” Howarth says.
Apart from this, Howarth says relatively good livestock prices have helped keep up morale onfarm.
Questions are being raised about just how good the state of the dairy industry is - especially given that the average farmgate payout for the coming season is set to exceed $10/kgMS.
A leading financial and banking advisor says he doubts if most dairy farmers fully understand the dynamics of banking.
Dairy farmers are shoring up their balance sheets, with almost $1.7 billion of debt repaid in the six months to March 2025.
Virtual fencing company Halter is going global but for founder Craig Piggott, New Zealand farmers will always remain their main partners.
A former Fonterra executive is the new chair of the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ).
New Federated Farmers national dairy chair Karl Dean is looking forward to tackling the issues facing the sector.
OPINION: A last-minute compromise ensured that the election of the new Federated Farmers national dairy chair wasn't a repeat of…
OPINION: Just as it's healthy for cockies to get out of the shed and off the farm occasionally to get…