June is the first month of the New Zealand milk production season, but intakes this month are typically very low as most cows are not in milk. The June data continues to show the impact of the autumn drought. Many cows were culled earlier this year when feed levels were severely impaired by the drought. "Cows that do not get in-calf are often milked on through the winter months when feed reserves are high but this year these "empty" cows would have been some of the first stock to be culled" advises Agrifax analyst, Susan Kilsby.
Milk collection across NZ reached 87.4 million kgMS for the month of June, down 11.8%
Fonterra reports "Milk collection across NZ reached 87.4 million kgMS for the month of June, down 11.8% compared to June last year".
Dairy herds in the North Island will begin calving shortly followed by those in the South Island in late July and early August. Milk flows will then rapidly increase during the months of August and September. NZ milk production typically peaks in late October.
The milk production season for NZ runs from 1 June to 31 May.
Fonterra's financial year runs from 1 August to 31 July.
Fonterra has sold 866.667 metric tonnes of product on GlobalDairyTrade in the 2012/13 financial year at an average price of US$3585/tonne. There will be one further auction to be held in the current financial year. The GDT-TWI Price Index for the current year-to-date is 20.88% higher than over the same period in the previous year.
