“Our beef numbers out there, they’re falling,” he said.
“They’re getting quite expensive, and people are seeing the dairy beef market as an entry level for themselves and looking at rearing a few calves.
“So there’s certainly been an increase in enquiry for those, and I expect that early calf market to be really quite sought after, in securing those calves, for the rearers, and I see a little bit of a lift in the price there for them.”
Speaking of dairy beef, Cuttance said he saw a future increase in its overall market position.
“If you look at the beef kill stats throughout the country, we kill about just short of a million prime steers and heifers in New Zealand a year,” he explained.
“That number has been decreasing a little bit.”
He said the number was 50% beef cattle and 50% dairy-beef cattle.
“I see the shortfall being made up by dairy beef going forward over the next decade, and I see that percentage going more in favour of the dairy beef out there.”
As for culled cows, Cuttance said there were many out there, with demand from all processors.
“You’ll see the price of them lifting around the country,” he said.
Last week, Cuttance was at the Temuka sales, where he said friesian, or friesian-cross cows 450kg or over, were fetching up to $3.50 per kilo of liveweight.
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“That’s really good value for these cows when you tap out the numbers,” he said.
“The processors are doing a lot of spot pricing out there - if you’ve got a volume of culled cows for sale, you really need to ask a question on the pricing, and you could be surprised at what you achieve there.”
Dairy livestock sales were currently the star of the stable, Cuttance said.
“It’s keeping the lights on in the country at the moment,” he said.
“There’s a lot of talk about dairy, a lot of inquiries about cows, going forward with potential conversions throughout the central part of the South Island this year.
“I see a real lift in dairy cow prices for the current season.”
Cuttance said that, overall, the dairy outlook was “fantastic”.
Fonterra’s $10/kg milk price, albeit with a large $8.00-$11.00 per kg of milksolids range, was good news for the market, he said.
Cuttance said this was a record milk price and remained positive about the future, despite global uncertainty.
“I think the previous highest price was $9.30 back in 2021-22.
“So it’s great guns.”
PGG Wrightson’s Dairy Sales Manager, Mark Cuttance, gives a no-nonsense outlook on what’s happening in the dairy market right now.
Whether it’s capitalising on record milk prices or securing early-season feeder calves, PGG Wrightson’s Livestock team is right there alongside farmers, helping them navigate the shifting tides of dairy supply and demand.
For more insights like Mark’s, plus updates on pricing, on-farm sales, genetics and everything in between, visit the PGG Wrightson Livestock Hub.
Because no matter what’s moving in the market, we’re here to help you move with it.
Click through to see how we can help make the most of your livestock operation.
