More than 52,000 dairy cows have been slaughtered in a week - the highest rate ever recorded.
And the number sent to the meatworks is tipped to reach more than 1 million this season for the first time as the low milk solids payout starts to bite.
The record-breaking number were culled in the week to May 16 - up from just over 50,000 a week at the start of the month and a weekly rate of about 45,000 for the same time last year. To date, 22 per cent more cows, or 155,000, have been killed than last season.
The slaughters come as Fonterra announced its advance payout for the coming season will be $5.25/kg. Last season the advance payout plummeted from $7 to $4.40 at the end of the season.
The anticipated final cull of one million does not include other cattle, such as heifers or bulls.