Peak milk production in October was the lowest since 2016, with 252.061m kgMS collected for the month. Milk intake fell 2.9% YOY on a solids basis and 3.4% YOY on a volume basis. Seasonal intake to October is tracking 3.5% behind the prior year comparative.

The drop was smaller than expected by NZX analysts, but they expect full year intake to still be significantly below 2021/22. Currently wet weather across the North Island is helping to set pastures up for a decent start to Summer, but as always, the summer season presents large discrepancies of outcomes. The La Nina weather pattern remains in play, delivering a wet spring and possibly a dry summer.