Feed shortages and a surplus of in-calf heifers in Taranaki are affecting the market, but buyers may face higher prices in the spring.Farmers with feed and good cash flow may be able to buy stock at favourable prices now reports The Taranaki Daily. The current market for in-calf heifers was not good, longtime stock dealer Eric Sole, of Stratford, said at Tuesday’s Stratford stock sale.Some farmers were having to sell their animals because they were short of grass, and those who had money and grass were likely to pick up bargains, he said.

A Rahotu sharemilker, who identified himself only as Ross and who was selling his budget cows, said animals were not making what they should, considering the payout and the money spent on grazing.”Sellers are not making much. It’s because there’s not the movement in farm sales. Sharemilkers are not moving, so stock are not moving,” he said.PGG Wrightson regional manager Don Newland, of New Plymouth, said dairy heifer buyers were being cautious and selective on quality.He believed some buyers were reluctant because they were struggling to feed existing stock.

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The global outlook for dairy demand is strong but NZ dairy farmers must shore up their businesses against likely future volatility in returns, says Fonterra Chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden.“Our future as dairy farmers in NZ, our international competitiveness and this country’s future – it all depends on how we respond to the more volatile markets and ensure we make the most of our unique advantage in pastoral dairy farming.”

Speaking at DairyNZ’s Towards 2020 farmers’ forum today, Sir Henry said “Our farmers need tools in their businesses to manage this risk and to focus on our strength – growing grass and turning it into milk. This is where we lead the world. Our ability to grow grass and turn it into milk more efficiently than anyone else is our point of difference. We simply cannot afford to lose our edge or the control of our productive resources. This is where we need to focus. Then we will have a strong dairy farming legacy to pass on to our children and grandchildren – future generations of NZ dairy farmers.”

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Dairy prices have remained steady overnight on Fonterra’s monthly online-dairy auction. Fonterra is now publishing a dairy price index, which shows the percentage change in the average price of a “basket of products’ traded on its internet auction platform. This was down 0.8 per cent after last night’s trading reports The NZ Herald.

The new index, known as the “gDT-TWI” (globalDairyTrade Trade Weighted Index) takes changes in the online auction price and weights them based on total international dairy product trade flows. Paul Grave, globalDairyTrade Manager said the index was a good headline number for the state of the market.

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NZ dairy farmers will next season have ready access to fresh sexed semen and embryos following successful on‐farm trials by breeding companies reports voxy.co.nz. Thanks to an agreement between US‐based Sexing Technologies, AgResearch and the Waikato Innovation Park , the technology became available this season to artificial breeding and embryo companies to offer farmers fresh sorted semen and embryos for the first time in NZ.

Liberty Genetics and Animal Breeding Services (ABS) initiated a trial to evaluate the use of sexed semen in the dairy industry. 4600 inseminations were carried out in the 2009 spring mating period and further trial work is planned. Results from the trial are promising and Liberty Genetics Managing Director, David Hayman, says, “There have been valuable lessons learnt through the trial process, particularly with regards to what is required to achieve acceptable conception rates with sexed semen.” ABS is implementing the use of sexed semen in embryo production and can see several promising applications.

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Saudi families hungry for NZ -style gourmet burgers have been so enthusiastic in their turnouts that they have to wait in their cars until a security guard advises they can enter, says the NZ BurgerFuel franchise’s Kiwi founder and business development manager Chris Mason.  He said the listed company’s 150-seat, 300 square metre fast food restaurant at Damman, failed to factor in the size of a typical Saudi family group, which can be up to 15 reports Business Day.

“One Thursday night, which is like our Saturday night, we did the equivalent of the average NZ store’s weekly turnover,” Mr Mason said. Friday in Saudi Arabia is the religious equivalent of NZ’s Sunday. In accordance with Saudi culture, the outlet has a separate entrance and dining area for male diners without family members.  A 280sqm outlet is about to open in the United Arab Emirates tourist resort Dubai. Mr Mason said more than 20 more outlets were planned in Saudi Arabia.

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Elders Rural Holdings Ltd. relies on its battling Australian parent for financial support and may have to sell assets if that support is withdrawn, notes to the NZ company’s accounts say. Adelaide-based Elders Ltd., which owns 50% of rural services group Elders Rural, has pledged 12 months’ support, according to notes to the NZ firm’s accounts. That support makes up for a forecast shortage of cash flow at Elders Rural, which posted a net loss of $8.98 million in the 15 months to Sept. 30, the second straight loss reports Scoop. Elders Australia made an unsecured $63.6 million advance to Elders Rural in the latest period, charging 7.25% interest.

Elders Rural is launching its Just Shorn branded wool into the U.S. market, one of several initiatives to squeeze more margin out of the fibre in a divided industry that has walked away from research as returns dwindle. Rival Wool Partners International, which has Theresa Gattung as chairwoman, owns the Laneve mark. Both groups are inking supply deals with U.S. manufacturers.

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Farmers’ economic confidence improved in the first months of 2010, boosted by sheep and beef prices although optimism in some regions was restrained by drought conditions, a new Rabobank survey shows. It found 34 percent of farmers expected the rural economy to improve in the next year, up from 32 percent previously, while the proportion of farmers expecting conditions to worsen fell to 11 percent from 26 percent reports The ODT.

The Rabobank rural confidence survey was completed this month but before yesterday’s announcement by Fonterra that it had increased its milk price forecast for this season by 40c to $6.10 a kg of milksolids. Rabobank general manager rural NZ Ben Russell said the survey showed much of the improvement in rural confidence had been driven by sheep and beef farmers, who had a more optimistic outlook about their sectors. Factors working in the favour of sheep and beef producers included a small fall in the NZ dollar during the survey period, and good news in terms of commodity prices in the sectors.

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Fed Farmers commends Fonterra for raising its forecast milk price by 40 cents per kilogram of milk solids, but is warning that this rise must be kept in context. “Although this sounds like a lot of money and we’re very pleased by the announcement, we need to keep the actual monetary value of this announcement in perspective,” says Lachlan McKenzie, Fed Farmers Dairy chairperson.

“With around half of NZ’s dairy herds in drought declared areas, milk production is down significantly. So although those farmers might be getting a higher payout, they’re also producing less. “Most farmers will be using this extra payout to help get them through what has been a difficult season. Many farmers throughout NZ have had to dry their cows off early due to the drought and will have had to buy in feed to keep their cows in good condition.

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Fonterra has announced a 40 cent increase in its forecast milk payout for this 2009-10 milk season to $6.10 per kilogram of milk solids. Continued strength in global dairy prices, with demand growth beginning to outstrip supply, had driven the board’s decision to increase the forecast milk price, said chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden. The increase is the first since the forecast milk price was raised by $1.10 last November reports Stuff.

“This extra 40 cents per kg/ms will be welcomed by our farmer shareholders and also confirms that 2009/10 is shaping up as the second best in terms of cash payments to Fonterra farmer shareholders,” Sir Henry said. However, it came at a time when many farmers, especially those north of Taupo, were suffering from worsening drought conditions.

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Agriculture Minister David Carter yesterday received an earful from Marlborough farmers outraged at agriculture being included in the emissions trading scheme (ETS). The farmers waited for Mr Carter to finish a speech about the scheme at Meadowbank Station in Taylor Pass before unleashing a barrage of questions and statements reports The Marlborough Express. Mr Carter said he did not believe that climate change was “rubbish”. Over the past 20 years there were a “hell of a lot” more emissions of greenhouse gases which produced a “human-induced” effect, he said.

Marlborough farmer Warren Taylor said farmers needed to stop arguing about the science and whether the scheme should go ahead and instead try to use it to their advantage. “We can bitch and moan about it whether it’s getting warm or not; let’s make a buck out of it.” Marlborough Federated Farmers president Geoff Evans said the farming sector would not be able to compete in international markets because of a “perpetually” increasing ETS tax while foreign competitors received subsidies.

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