Booming South Island milk production will prop up Fonterra’s national collection this year as the North Island wilts from lack of rain in the season’s home straight reports Business Day. The giant global dairy exporter, which collects 92 per cent of the country’s milk and earns 25 per cent of NZ’s export returns, said with the end of the 2009-10 season approaching, South Island milk production was 9 per cent up on last season, while the North Island was 1 per cent behind.

Overall, Fonterra suppliers’ national milk production is currently around 2 per cent ahead of last year’s 1.3 billion litres, said Fonterra general manager, milk supply, Tim Deane. But for some North Island dairy farmers hoping to use Fonterra’s projected $6-plus/kg milksolids payout this season to recover from previous drought and last year’s recession-squeezed payout, that overall 1 per cent North Island dip skates over some ugly figures.

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An unusually cold spring caused milk production on Fonterra’s peak day of the year to fall just under 2 per cent short of the 2008 figure. Tim Deane, Fonterra’s general manager of milk supply, said “the flush” arrived nationally on November 3 when Fonterra collected 72.3 million litres. That was 1.4 million litres less than last year’s peak day, October 22.The Waikato peak was 19.9 million litres on October 3 reports The Waikato Times. It was 0.7 million litres down on the 20.6 million litres collected on October 2 in the previous season.

Milk flow peaked at the Tatua Co-operative Dairy Company, near Morrinsville, at 690,838 litres on September 23. The flush typically occurs five days either side of November 1. The cold weather during September and October slowed grass growth, reducing the amount cows ate and converted to milk.

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