Wet weather in New Zealand in September has hit milk production, with year-on-year production figures down 1.6%.

In total, production in September came to 207,418kgMS, down on last year’s 210,113kgMS.

For the season-to-date, figures show that production is down 0.4% and overall production is down 1.1% for the 12 months to September 2017.

Outlook

The outlook for future production growth remains moderate and will be driven by improvements in production per cow (as genetics and farming practices evolve) rather than increasing cow numbers, according to New Zealand’s ministry of primary industries.

It said that this reflects stabilising dairy land use in response to both price signals and the gradual implementation of nutrient discharge limits designed to achieve water quality objectives.

Milk production is expected to recover in the 2017/18 season, rising 2.2% from the previous year.

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