Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

$13.5m lift in milk payout forecast for Northland dairy farmers

Imran Ali
By Imran Ali
Multimedia Journalist·Northern Advocate·
21 Mar, 2018 05:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Northland dairy farmers will hope the present forecast milk price of $6.55 per kgMS remains or lifts further. PHOTO/JOHN STONE

Northland dairy farmers will hope the present forecast milk price of $6.55 per kgMS remains or lifts further. PHOTO/JOHN STONE

Northland dairy farmers are poised to earn $589.5 million if the latest milk price forecast is maintained until the final payout.

Despite posting a net loss of $348 million, dairy giant Fonterra yesterday announced a lift in the forecast milk price of $6.55 per kg of milk solids for 2017/18 season, up from the $6.40 forecast in December.

A payout of $6.55/kgMS will earn Northland dairy farmers $589.5m based on 90 million kg of milk solids they supply to Fonterra each year - $13.5 million more than the December forecast.

Fonterra recorded an after-tax loss of $348 million in the first half to January 31 this year, partly because of $183m it paid to French food giant Danone for losses from the botulism scare.

However, high dairy prices globally especially for whole milk power have allowed Fonterra to increase the forecast payout.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Northland dairy farm consultant Tafi Manjala said $6.55 was a good payout but farmers should exercise caution between now until the end of the year when the final milk price would be finalised.

If it stayed at $6.55, he said farmers should be able to spend their earnings on things such as farm infrastructure towards the end of the year.

The recent rain, he said, has given farmers about 20 per cent more silage for winter than in past years.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Northland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Tony Collins said the uplift in forecast milk payment would enable farmers to invest in machinery and equipment— something they have not been able to do in the past three years because of low payouts.

"Dairy farming, together with tourism, are crucial drivers of Northland's economy and when these sectors do well, businesses that sell to them do well," he said.

Fonterra typically announces the final milk payout in September.

Last year's final payout price was $6.52 per kgMS which raked in $586.8m for Northland dairy farmers.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'Absolute tragedy': 21yo drove drunk and crashed into tree, killing younger brother

08 Jul 06:00 AM
Northern Advocate

Signal concerns: Power, transmission quality issues disrupt Freeview service

08 Jul 05:06 AM
Northern Advocate

Man who knocked officer unconscious fails to reduce prison sentence

08 Jul 02:46 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'Absolute tragedy': 21yo drove drunk and crashed into tree, killing younger brother

'Absolute tragedy': 21yo drove drunk and crashed into tree, killing younger brother

08 Jul 06:00 AM

'The consequences are with you for the rest of your life', a judge told Rameka Rewiti.

Signal concerns: Power, transmission quality issues disrupt Freeview service

Signal concerns: Power, transmission quality issues disrupt Freeview service

08 Jul 05:06 AM
Man who knocked officer unconscious fails to reduce prison sentence

Man who knocked officer unconscious fails to reduce prison sentence

08 Jul 02:46 AM
Police arrest three, seize shotgun and rifles following dirt biker dispute

Police arrest three, seize shotgun and rifles following dirt biker dispute

08 Jul 12:09 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP