Displaying items by tag: Ian Williams

Last month saw the release of the 2013-14 DairyNZ Economic Survey, which contains a wealth of data on the average physical and financial performance of 301 randomly selected owner-operator herds during the 2013-14 season. 

Every time the milksolids payout drops, the industry starts talking about reducing production costs.

Each year, from about this time until the end of June, I am often asked to help interpret the results of maize silage feed analyses. 

I grew up in town and one of my distinct memories of summer and autumn when we went to visit our farming friends was the smell of silage. 

Many farmers are now facing hefty onfarm challenges. While the low milksolids payout is influencing cashflow and profitability, dry conditions are starting to limit pasture growth and milk flows in many key dairy regions. 

There is an old saying which states “prior planning prevents poor performance”.