Dairy Companies Association data shows the country’s milk processors collected 88,812,000 kilograms of milksolids in May, up 5.7% from May last year and setting a new record for the month.
That followed a record collection of 148,177,000kg MS in April and means production for the full season to the end of May was down 0.6% from the previous year.
“The 2017-18 season will be remembered by many dairy farmers for the trying conditions they were dealt during the spring and early summer,” AgriHQ chief analyst Susan Kilsby said.
“Milk production was hampered during the spring by extremely wet conditions that restricted pasture growth.
“This was followed by an early summer drought.
“However, extremely favourable conditions for pasture production prevailed in the later part of the season.
“They resulted in extra milk in the vat during the later months of the season.”
The total milk collection for the 2017-18 season of 1839 million kg MS is 2.7% behind the 2014-15 season when NZ’s milk intake peaked at 1890 million kg MS, AgriHQ said.
Dairy products are New Zealand’s largest export commodity. – BusinessDesk
