Fonterra’s latest Global Dairy Update indicates milk production fell 5% YOY in August, bringing season to date collections 3.9% behind last season. Wet conditions across both Islands affected milk production; North Island collections were down 6.1% to 67.5m kgs of milksolids, with season to date production 5.4% behind prior year as a very wet winter led to lower pasture cover which will be a focus going into spring.

In the South Island, August production fell 1.9% YOY to 24.4m kg of milksolids as isolated flooding in the Upper South Island raised significant challenges on-farm, while other parts of the South Island experienced relatively normal conditions. Despite the YOY fall in South Island production in August, season to date output remains 1.6% ahead of the prior year comparative.