Milk production falls between March and April
Milk production reached a new low in the first month of the milk year, at just 1.1bn litres – 93m litres less than April last year, according to data from the RPA.
With the combination of last year’s poor silage and this year’s late spring and high feed costs, it is the first time on record that milk production has fallen between March and April, dropping by 1m litres compared to a more usual rise of about 17m litres. Butterfat remained at a record high, at 4.1%.
International dairy buyers remained concerned about global supplies in the short term, said a report by DairyCo. “The drought in New Zealand does appear to be easing. However, since February, milk production has been well down on the previous year.
“At the same time, the 2013-14 milk season in Europe has not begun at any pace given poor weather at the end of the previous milk year.” EU production from April to February was 0.4% down on the previous year (accounting for the leap year), at 126.1m tonnes, with several of the main exporting regions affected.
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