THREE YEARS ago Whangara Farms won the Ahuwhenua Trophy for the best Maori sheep and beef farm in New Zealand.

Lamb kill numbers are just showing signs of declining. But unlike in the beef market, farmgate prices are not feeling too much upward pressure.

Early Beef + Lamb figures suggested a 17,000 head lift in the North Island cow kill this season. Now it seems it won't get anywhere close and in fact could be much lower than historical levels.

While US imported beef prices have softened in recent weeks, the weaker NZ dollar has more than made up for this. 

US end users of beef remain reluctant to buy too far forward and instead continue to play the spot market. 

CLIVE AND Jorga Walden sharemilk a 160ha, 415-cow dairy farm and run a 167ha drystock farm to the rear of the dairy property.

The country now has more than six million dairy cattle, an increase partly driven by higher milk solid payouts, Statistics New Zealand says.

The North Island cow kill has still yet to find its feet. This continues to help support beef schedule prices which continue to hold fairly steady. Returning to a full kill week a fortnight ago, the kill increased slightly from the shorter Easter weeks but was still struggling to match levels seen at this time of the year. Just over 21,000 cows were slaughtered the week ending April 21st, down on the usual 27,000/wk for this time of the season.

50-56% of all the beef eaten in the US was in ground beef form last year. US veteran economist and agribusiness consultant Bill Helming forecasts that will lift to 65% by or before 2030 as the percentage of beef consumed in whole muscle form declines.

Jo Bills After a long period of relative stability, helped in part by increased frequency of auctions, it has been an action-packed month for the GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) platform.