Farm budgets stretched - McIntyre

He says interest rates, rising costs and a lower milk price is stretching farmers' budgets to the limit. He says the first six months of this season were terrible, but a good summer and autumn have seen things pick up. He says getting maize planted was a challenge but says the yield appears to be good, despite the late planting.

McIntyre was one of a few farmers who took a punt and spent extra money and bought supplement specifically to get his cows in good condition for mating and this has worked out well for him. But for him and others, the shortage of skilled labour remains a big problem and one that is not just confined to the farm.

"A lot of our support industries are also short staffed, for example, the people who service tractors. Some are a little less experienced than in the past and so things aren't running efficiently on farm because it's hard to get your tractors fixed. It costs more to do it and it takes longer because there is a shortage of mechanics," he says.

McIntyre says farmers are also concerned about killing space at the works, not only for cull cows but also bobby calves.