Word of the day

Dox – to publish the private personal information of (another person) or reveal the identity of (an online poster) without the consent of that individual; to gather and publish someone’s personal information, such as phone number, address, email messages, credit card numbers, etc., especially with a malicious intent; personal information about someone, collected and published without permission;  to reveal information about somebody on the internet, usually in order to harm them.

Sowell says

Those who want a world without adversity, struggle or competition in effect want a world where the government plays Lady Bountiful with the taxpayers’ money. With all the responsibilities of human beings removed from people’s shoulders, the recipients become like livestock, fed…

— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) May 28, 2024

Woman of the day

Woman of the Day socialite and WW2 Air Transport Auxiliary pilot Mona Friedlander, one of the first eight women to join the ATA in January 1940. She specialised in night flying, having spent nine months in 1939 as a “human target” flying back and forth along a defined route… pic.twitter.com/5Hl0NoSCN8

— The Attagirls (@TheAttagirls) June 2, 2024

Rural round-up

Perfect storm hits hill country – Neal Wallace :

There is no doubt the current trading environment for sheep and beef farmers is the toughest in many years.

Caught in a perfect storm of high inflation and interest rates and low sheepmeat prices, some farmers are describing it as the toughest financial period in their lifetime.

The facts support that claim.

Beef + Lamb NZ’s mid-season update for 2023-24 concludes that, adjusted for inflation, the expected level of profitability for the 2023-24 year is the lowest farm profit since 2007-08. . . 

Cyclical pricing at the root of sheep and beef downturn – Neal Wallace :

The current downturn in the sheep industry has been likened to the economic crisis of the 1980s, but a rural accountant and banking leader says there are differences.

While not downplaying the particular difficulties facing sheep and beef farmers, ANZ regional manager Marcus Bousfield said unlike in the 1980s, meat prices and demand have not collapsed.

Interest and inflation rates are high and farmgate prices, especially for sheepmeat, are lower than they have been due to a low returns from China and competition from Australia.

Dunedin accountant Doug Harvie started his career during the 1980s economic reforms and said the standard ratio back then was 60% debt and 40% equity. That has since been reversed. . . 

What a stunning late autumn evening. pic.twitter.com/l93UQij72O

— Blocka 🧢 (@blairdrysdale77) May 28, 2024

An $8/kgMS milk price will ‘bring no joy to farmers’ –  Sudesh Kissun :

A Waikato accountant says dairy farmers putting together their budget for 2025 won’t have much to cheer for even with an $8/kgMS forecast milk price.

Waipa-based Jarrod Godfrey, associate partner at Findex Waikato is encouraging dairy farmers to advocate strongly for something better from Fonterra – a material improvement in real milk prices.

Godfrey says that in real terms, these milk prices are not materially different to what was paid to farmers 20 years ago.

Fonterra recently announced its opening milk price forecast for the 2025 season – a range of $7.25 to $8.75/kgMS, with a midpoint of $8/kgMS. The co-op’s 2023-24 forecast midpoint remains unchanged at $7.80/kgMS. . . 

Dairy industry needs strategic A2 policy – Keith Woodford :

In recent years, the level of A2 beta-casein in New Zealand milk has been increasing rapidly and the level of A1 beta-casein has been correspondingly decreasing.

Unpublished data from New Zealand’s leading herd-improvement cooperative, LIC, which was supplied to me on request, indicate that once the 2023-born dairy calves join the milking herd in 2025, these two-year-olds will produce beta-casein that is approximately 84% A2. In contrast, only 16% of their beta-casein will be A1.

This is a remarkable difference from the early to mid-1990s, when the proportion of A2 beta-casein in New Zealand milk was reported in various medical papers, using data from the New Zealand Dairy Research Institute, now part of Fonterra, as approximately 50%.

The 2024-born calves will produce milk that will almost certainly be even higher in the A2 variant of the relevant gene, probably about 86% and with A1 down to about 14%. . . 

Fonterra takes U-turn on consumer products – Keith Woodford :

On 16 May, Fonterra announced a proposal to divest itself of all production and marketing of consumer goods. This took most people linked to the dairy industry, including me, by surprise.

If the proposal is fully implemented, then Fonterra will in future only produce ingredients. Some of these ingredients will be sold to food-service entities and the rest will be sold as commodities.

In marketing language, Fonterra will be exclusively a B2B (business to business) entity with nothing that is consumer-facing.  Fonterra calls it a step-change but it is more than that. It is a U-turn.

All of Fonterra’s brands would be divested. . . 

The dairy sector supports many livelihoods in rural areas, providing crucial income opportunities and building communities. #WorldMilkDay #EnjoyDairy #SupportDairy pic.twitter.com/XwHOoc7pCW

— WorldMilkDay 🐮 (@WorldMilkDay) June 2, 2024

ACT farmers encouraged to introduce dung beetles in pastures to improve soil quality, reduce fly numbers and save money – Simon Beardsell and Charlotte Gore :

Decades ago, it wasn’t possible to sit outside a Canberra cafe on the footpath and enjoy a bite to eat without your meal being overtaken by unwelcome diners.

According to John Feehan, that has changed thanks to the introduction of a variety of dung beetle species.

“If you go back 30 years ago or so it was actually illegal for a restaurant or a café to put a table outside on the footpath and serve any food whatsoever,” he said.

And that was just as well, because if you had, “200 bush flies would descend on whatever you were attempting to eat,” Mr Feehan said. . .