December 8, 2009

New Zealand dairy production leaps back to life from drought

Milk solids processed last season have increased by nearly 10 percent from the 16 billion litres of milk produced on farms, registering a strong recovery from the 2007-08 drought.

Production on a per herd, hectare and cow basis also increased on the previous season, according to newly released statistics.

The number of dairy cows grew by six percent last season.

The total number of dairy herds increased about 180 to more than 11,500, bucking a 30-year trend. Average herd size also grew by 15 to 366.

More than three quarters of the herds are in the North Island but the South Island has bigger herds and farms.

In real terms, the cost of buying dairy farms has doubled since 2002 to more than NZ$35,000 (US$25,000) per hectare, reaching an average price of more than NZ$3.25 million (US$2.3 million) in 2008.