Green but not much grass!
Dairy farmers in the lower North Island are working on protecting next season, according to Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre, who farms just north of the Horowhenua township of Levin.
Feds dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard is hearing two different outlooks for the sector in the next two years – one gloomy, one optimistic.
He takes the middle ground, believing farmers are looking at a couple more tough years and perhaps some improvement in prices.
But it won't be peaches, he told the conference. "People will have to keep an eye on their budgets to protect their cash; and the key thing is to learn lessons about debt levels and what we pay for land.
"We talked about all this in 2008. Yes, everyone is supportive in these tight times, but this will happen again so we need to remember what happened this time and take lessons from it."
The risk remains that when times get good, people revert to their old habits, Hoggard says.
Some Kiwis show they know little about the farming sector, emailing him to ask why he supports that "foreign company" Fonterra.
"I would hate to see what survey results would show if Joe Public in Wellington or Auckland were asked who owns Fonterra. I hear people saying Fonterra is stealing all the profits and ripping off farmers."
Hoggard hears of people who think Fonterra sells its milkpowder cheaply overseas, not understanding that some is high value ingredients. Though he'd like to see Fonterra doing a lot more, on balance he believes they do a great job.
Fonterra has cemented its position as the country’s number one cheesemaker by picking up nine NZ Champion of Cheese trophies this year.
New Zealand dairy processors are welcoming the Government’s commitment to continuing to push for Canada to honour its trade commitments.
An educational programme, set up by Beef + Land New Zealand, to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate school students has reported the successful completion of its second year.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a resolution adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to declare 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer.
Waikato herd health veterinarian Katrina Roberts is the 2024 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.