Whatever it takes, don’t disrupt your capital stock to cope with the drought. That’s the headline message from a seasoned Canterbury consultant who’s seen the region go through severely dry seasons in over 40 years in the industry.

South Island dairy farmers aim to raise $2 million within three months to launch a research farm.

Housing cows can either lift profitability or improve the environmental footprint but not both, according to a new study.

Farmers in New Zealand are starting to ‘cotton on’ to the concept of farming within environmental limits.

Lincoln University farm management and agribusiness lecturer Guy Trafford is so convinced about the opportunities sheep milk presents he plans to manufacture his own ice cream from it.

Three more dairy companies – Miraka, Open Country and Westland – are reporting milk flows dipping as dry weather starts to affect grass growth and production, despite reasonable rain in many places in the past week.

Despite dying winter feed crops and increasingly crisp pasture, losses due to the central South Island drought could still be ring-fenced to this season, says a dairy farmer representative in the hard hit region.

The raising of six heavy power cables across the Waikato River last week was a milestone in lines company Unison’s work to energise 30 new dairy farms in the Taupo region.

As usual in summer, some regions are drying out – some are getting extremely dry. The media is running hot with drought stories, from ‘experts’ on social media and in print.

Dairy infrastructure can have a major impact on milking efficiency and the comfort of cows and milkers. Upgrading an existing dairy or installing a new dairy are big, often costly projects, says DairyNZ.