Dairy

Kirstin Nicholson. Pat and Michelle Quinn’s dairy farm at Mincha West is under real threat of flooding. The 700 head dairy property sits about 3km from Flannery’s flume, and the water coming out of Kow Swamp backs up and flows over the top of the property ... In 2011, the farm was completely inundated – and Pat is predicting this flood will be the same.

The deindustrialisation of milk production in Ukraine could prove to be a miraculous renaissance of the industry ... The cow becomes a source of hope and prosperity in an era of instability. This allows us to hope that, at least in private households, the production of dairy products will begin to increase.

Shadow Minister for Northern Australia, Senator Susan McDonald has warned the Federal Government to cut the “bull” and not the national cattle herd ahead of signing up to an international methane reduction agreement ... Senator McDonald warned that any move against cattle and sheep herds would be met with fierce resistance, especially from Northern Australia’s $1.35 billion live cattle export sector which supplies much-needed beef to South East Asian countries ... Senator McDonald said attacks on methane emissions ignored the contributions made by herbivorous and ruminant feral animals.

The Victorian Farmers Federation’s United Dairy Farmers of Victoria (VFF UDV) says Northern Victoria’s dairy industry would be further damaged by water buybacks and the recovery of the 450GL up-water target ahead of this week’s meeting of State and Federal Water Ministers to discuss the Murray Darling Basin Plan. VFF UDV President Mark Billing said the group strongly opposed the recovery of the 450GL saying it would lead to losses in dairy production and local jobs.

Finally, the announcement many workers in Lismore were hoping for – Norco will rebuild its ice cream factory in South Lismore although it will be smaller. The factory was left wrecked and non-operational after the February 28 floods.

Global dairy market fundamentals have shifted course in Q3 2022, from extreme tightness to visible but modest loosening. A potential collision between supply growth and demand is approaching, with Q4 year-on-year milk supply growth, weak Chinese import demand, and broader demand rationing in developing countries weighing on forecasts, according to the latest international dairy market report from Rabobank.

Kirstin Nicholson. Two of the region’s young farmers will represent Australia at the Young Breeders School in Battice, Belgium. Kaitlyn Wishart and Georgia Sieben are part of the team of five that will represent Australia on the world dairy youth competition stage next month.

While global milk production is set to have decreased for at least four consecutive quarters from Q3 2021 to the current quarter Q2 2022 expectations of weakening demand are creating a scenario for moderate price declines in dairy commodities during the second half of 2022, Rabobank says in its latest global Dairy Quarterly report.

NSW Farmers is encouraging dairy farmers to work with processors to secure the best farmgate deal possible for their milk, with the deadline for processors to publish their supply contracts around the corner... “Sustainable relationships are important, and farmers should work with processors to position their businesses for growth on the back of these prices.”

Norco dairy farmers are to receive an immediate price increase of five cents a litre to support them in farm production after the floods. Norco Co-operative’s 281 members will receive the extra five cents a litre paid as a co-operative premium above the normal milk prices, taking the average price to 84c a litre.

Farmgate milk prices have increased significantly across the world’s major dairy export regions and further “upside” in milk prices remains, Rabobank says in its latest Rabobank Global Dairy Quarterly report. The report says that even before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, global dairy commodity prices were “soaring” due to a global supply shortfall.

In the aftermath of the flood, bread and milk have become important commodities. With delivery trucks from Brisbane delayed, dairy farmers Shane Hickey and Julia Curtis have stepped up to get milk to as many places as they can ... In the past few days, they have widened their delivery service ... Dave’s Bakehouse in Kyogle is flat out making bread ...

Cases of Bovine Ephemeral Fever, also known as three-day sickness, are being seen in cattle on the NSW North Coast. The disease has been confirmed via laboratory testing in a herd within the Kyogle shire, and there have also been reports of clinical signs of the disease in the Tweed and Brunswick shires. It is expected that the disease will move south as the season progresses.

Trevor Whittington. Last week the Minister asked in the Farm Weekly, what more could they have done to consult with industry on the outbreak of BJD. For WAFarmers and the Minister to end up exchanging letters in the Farm Weekly it is a clear sign of a breakdown in communications between industry and the Department.

Kirstin Nicholson. “She’s not a lollipop cow, she mixes it with the others, but then she likes to get dressed up and get fancy and do well for us": Steven Hore, Elmar Holsteins.

A Victorian farmer has received a donation of a critical 22,500L tank and water to help assist in the recovery from drought thanks to the #FinishWaterWaste initiative. Almost half of Australia’s farms are serviced by the Murray-Darling Basin’s Victorian waterways, including dairy farmer Fiona Rourke’s property near Shepparton.

On the back of strong cattle and grain prices, the NAB Rural Commodities Index is now almost 20% higher than the same time in 2020, according to the bank’s November Rural Commodities Wrap. With a La Nina event now officially underway, the prospect of a wet summer for eastern and northern Australia could see grass fever push record cattle prices even higher, while grain prices are also rising.

As the only IP holder globally for Asparagopsis, Australian innovation start-up, FutureFeed, is the founding authority on the natural seaweed that helps fight climate change and produce more food with fewer resources. Built from strong scientific foundations based on proven results, FutureFeed exists to support the growing use of Asparagopsis as a natural ingredient for livestock to significantly reduce carbon emissions.

New leader, sustainability, dairy alternatives, and changing demographics shaping the future. Rabobank’s annual Global Dairy Top 20 report shows the combined turnover of the top 20 industry leaders fell by just 0.1% in US dollar terms, following the prior year's 1.8% gain.

At the half-way point of 2021, Australian agriculture appears set for another strong year with the NAB Rural Commodities Index up 2.5% month-on-month in May to now be 6.2% above the same time in 2020. NAB’s June Rural Commodities Wrap, released today, reports that dairy farmers are among the producers enjoying the flow-on effects of good prices and strong seasonal conditions across many parts of the country.

Global dairy prices continue to trade at elevated levels, despite being “stuck in neutral” for the past three months, as the market slowly returns to normal from the pandemic-led channel distortion, according to the latest Rabobank Global Dairy Quarterly report.