Takapau dairy farmer Hamish Galloway has decided to quit his winter milking contract with Fonterra.
He farms 750 cows on 440ha and says it is time for the cold, muddy slog to end.
"We're just not getting enough money for it," he said.
"When the payout was in the $4 range, the $1.30 premium for winter milk made it worthwhile but as the costs and the general payout increased, it is no longer an incentive.
"Now that it's $6.30, it is still the same amount and feed costs have gone up."
Even if the payout was low, it would still not be worthwhile. "The costs are just too high."
Half of Mr Galloway's herd's winter diet is supplements.
"They need about 18kg-20kg of dry matter. A dry cow, especially a Friesian will get about 12kg-13kg, so you've got to feed them another 7kg-8kgs of feed per day.
"There a lot of starchy type products available but protein is key for good production."
Mr Galloway said winter lameness was also an issue with cows particularly reluctant to walk on soft hooves.
He said they would continue to milk the same number of cows and, overall, production should increase if they could prolong the number of milking days to 300 in the year.
"We will probably be able to peak them higher because cows peak higher in the spring than they do in the autumn."
The family farm is already producing well above the norm at 450kg of milk solids per cow, compared with the typical New Zealand average of about 300kg.
"We just feed the right kind of feed at certain times of the year. Most supplements are grown on the farm except for a little bit of mixed grain."
Mr Galloway said the move to a diverse pasture provided a good level of protein and sugars and was a bonus in dry weather when rye grass, the dominant species in many dairy pastures, "turns its toes up and won't grow".
Pastures used included lucerne, chicory, plantain, rye, red and white clover and prairie grass.
"The roots are going down a lot further than they used to - we kick into growth a little quicker with the rain."
He said all paddocks were usually left clean but a cow's preference for one grass over the other changed during the season, depending on what they needed.
"At certain times of the year they don't want to eat plantain."
While it was easy to cancel the winter contract, Mr Galloway said it was hard earned.
"We had to milk two seasons without premiums to show Fonterra we could do it."
He said life without winter milking would be a lot easier because calving and mating would only happen once a year.
"It's just real hard work during the winter trying to walk cows up muddy races with a lack of sunshine. For us, it's not worth it."
The unchanging winter milk premium has seen an increasing number of farmers cease winter milking in the region. "In the South Island, farmers are paid nearly three times the premium.
"They have a shortage of winter milk down there and they won't cart our milk down there, even though it is an excellent area for doing winter milk because of our free-draining soils."
But if the premium was lifted to South Island rates he said he would return to winter milking "straightaway".