Wednesday, 14 June 2023 12:54

Helping farmers manage cost pressures

Written by  Sudesh Kissun
DairyNZ launched a new resource at National Fieldays, to help farmers better understand the current economic environment. DairyNZ launched a new resource at National Fieldays, to help farmers better understand the current economic environment.

Farmers are facing increased costs and are focused on managing these at the start of the new dairy season.

To support farmers, DairyNZ launched a new resource at National Fieldays, to help them better understand the current economic environment.

“Every farm is different but, given the scale of cost increases in the past few seasons, many farms will be feeling the current profit squeeze,” explains DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle.

“They will likely be starting the season with inflation, farm costs and milk prices front of mind, and considering how to approach the year ahead.”

DairyNZ’s data has shown that, on average, farm costs increased by around 13% between the past two seasons (2021/22 and 2022/23) and around 33% over the past three years. However, costs are forecast to reduce from around $9.17 kg/MS last season to around $8.96 kg/MS for the 2023/24 season.

“It is good to be seeing a slight reduction in farm expenses, particularly for urea and supplementary feed, but costs are still high. We are hearing from farmers that on-farm inflation is one of the biggest concerns impacting their profitability, as they have experienced significant price increases in the past year,” says Mackle.

 “That’s why we are focused on supporting our farmers through current market conditions. We are excited to launch our new DairyNZ Econ Tracker to farmers, which provides some of the latest information on the New Zealand dairy sector, including farm economics.

 “This is a central platform where farmers can gain information to help understand their operating environment, track sector trends, and then apply the information to their individual farm businesses.

 The DairyNZ Econ Tracker builds on the available information from the DairyNZ Economic Survey and Dairy Statistics and provides a snapshot of the dairy sector’s economic situation.

More like this

DairyNZ: Waikato Farmers Need Certainty on PC1 Rules

DairyNZ says Waikato farmers need certainty on Plan Change 1, but they say that certainty must be matched with practical, workable rules and a clear transition that doesn't get ahead of the new resource management system currently under review.

Featured

RSE Scheme Changes Coming - McClay

Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.

Andy Macfarlane Joins AgriZeroNZ Board

Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.

National

Machinery & Products

 

 

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

True Reflection?

A fair question has been raised about how member-funded organisations should conduct themselves when taking a public position on any…

Civil Circus!

OPINION: It really is getting harder to lampoon government bureaucrats when they do such a good job of it themselves.…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter