It’s early days, but New Zealand milk production for the 2019/20 milking season, which runs from June 2019 to May 2020, is off to a strong start.

The latest production figures released by the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ) shows milk collections from New Zealand dairy farms in July stood at 265m litres, which is 5% ahead of the same month last year. Spring weather conditions in New Zealand are said to be ideal as kiwi farmers enter the busy spring calving period.

In June, New Zealand milk production was up 14% year-on-year at 220m litres. This means cumulative milk collections in New Zealand for the first two months of the new milking season stand at 483m litres, which is almost 9% ahead of last year.

However, it’s important to note the months of June and July are the equivalent of January and February here in Ireland. New Zealand will not hit peak milk production until October.