Farmer Focus Livestock: Tom Rawson reports from New Zealand
Although I’m writing this article from New Zealand, by the time you read it I will be back in picturesque Dewsbury, soaking up the rays (It got to 34C in Christchurch).
This three-week study tour with my mate Oli has been an amazing learning experience truly a follow on from the Nuffield Scholarship back in 2005, both technically and socially.
In the past six months, the payout in NZ has dropped from NZ$7.90 to NZ$5.10, making life interesting for not only the farm owners, but also the share milkers, who have seen cow values halve in that time. The responses to this was to cut costs such as reseeding, fertility work by the vets and bought-in concentrates. Back to pasture is the way now for most.
Expansion has been massive since my last tour of duty, with one family expanding from 900 to 2600 cows. Servicing that debt will be tricky, but these farmers see business growth as outweighing dividends. They have used the good times to set up for the not so good.
One of the more fascinating evenings was spent in the company of someone from Dairy Farmers of America. He told us that in the US many herds are seeing 10-15% of animals culled with farmers trying to raise cash just to buy feed for the rest of the cows. At 16p/litre (equivalent), these boys are feeling the pinch. But we must remember this will all help knock worldwide supply of milk, along with the terrible Victoria situation, and many NZ farmers are also well down on production.
The key message is the best operators are still making good returns, so surely the top 10% is were we must strive to be.
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