June milk production down again
MILK PRODUCERS have had another slow month, turning in June volumes well below profile in trying weather conditions.
Periods of volatile hot and dry conditions followed by cold and wet have knocked cows off their optimum yield, according to Charles Holt of the Farm Consultancy Group.
But there were also signs that augured well for the future, he said, including low feed and quota prices and an influx of cheap but skilled labour from Eastern Europe.
“It is difficult to manage cows for maximum production, when there have been so many wet spells, especially in the west of the country,” said Mr Holt.
“I can’t think of anything apart from weather to explain it. There is no shortage of cows: Though numbers in the census are creeping down, production per cow is creeping up.
June milk deliveries | |
Milk delivered | 1186.0 |
| Average butterfat content | 3.85% |
| B’fat adjusted deliveries | 1179.6 |
| Quota profile | 1236.3 |
| Delivery vs profile | -56.7 |
| Cumulative | -165.5 |
“But though I don’t want to belittle the milk price pressure, I’m sensing things have changed in recent months. It’s early days to say we’re not going to hit quota.”
The butterfat-adjusted delivery for June was 1.179bn litres, falling 56.7m litres short of the Charles Holt/FARMERS WEEKLY production profile.
It brings the cumulative shortfall since the start of the milk year to 165.5m litres – below even last year’s first quarter production levels.