Challenging half-year for Pāmu

This was compared to $15 million for the half-year to 31 December 2022.

Pāmu chief executive Mark Leslie says the drop in profits was due to several challenges including a sharp reversal in global dairy prices, plummeting lamb prices, and adverse weather events in 2023.

“Sustained damage from last summer’s cyclones continues to impact our bottom line as we reinstate infrastructure and work to re-grass lost pasture, repair or replace damaged fences, clear slips, and maintain farm tracks,” says Leslie.

The state farmer is currently forecasting an improved full-year NOP of between $9 million and $19 million compared to its original forecast of between $1 million and $10 million.

Leslie says this change to the forecast is largely a result of a positive uplift in the global dairy trade index and gains from the company’s wider forestry business.

“It assumes that there will be no further deterioration in the exchange rate and that livestock prices hold through the season,” he says.

“Despite challenges facing the primary sector, Pāmu strives for operational excellence with an emphasis on innovation, sustainability, and being a safe, responsible employer.

“Health, safety, and wellbeing are at the heart of how we operate. We aim to ensure all out people and contractors get home safely every night and we continually look to enhance best practice programmes and systems to ensure safe behaviour is embedded in everything we do,” Leslie says.

December 2023 marked what Leslie says is an important milestone for the company: The last of the state farmer’s quadbikes leaving its farms.

“This was achieved in the same month as media reports of several fatalities involving quads, highlighting the risk of using these vehicles for farm tasks and corroborating our decision to exit them from the business,” he says. “While not without some costs, removing quads from a peak of 440 nationwide is a major milestone in our health and safety journey.”

“Over the past six months, we have continued to progress on our organisational strategy. We continue to adjust our practices to increase profitability and efficiency while seeking to ensure our farming activities continue to positively to ecosystems and communities,” Leslie concludes.