DairyNZ highlights improving outlook as levy vote enters final day

DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown is encouraging farmers to vote in the Milksolids Levy.

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DairyNZ chair and Matamata farmer Tracy Brown is encouraging levy-paying farmers to make their voices heard, with voting in the milk solids levy closing at 5pm on March, Friday 13.

Brown said a strong voter turnout was essential because DairyNZ was mandated to speak on behalf of all dairy farmers.

“Who else is the organisation that speaks on behalf of all of dairy? If we don’t exist, then that doesn’t happen,” she told The Country’s Jamie Mackay.

“Our role is to do the collective work that individual farmers can’t do.”

Brown said independent research released last year showed a seven‑fold return on farmers’ levy investment.

“So I think that’s significant, and hopefully farmers value the work that we do.”

Voting is being run through Electionz.com, the same provider used for director elections.

Brown said farmers who hadn’t yet voted could search their inbox for Electionz emails or look for notification prompts on their phones.

Anyone who has already voted will no longer receive reminders.

Brown urged farmers to get in contact if they had any questions.

“Reach out to one of our staff members to get guidance on where to find your code and all of that kind of stuff, that’s not a problem.”

Meanwhile, DairyNZ’s latest Econ Tracker quarterly update shows the national break-even milk price has dropped, largely due to easing interest rates.

The Econ Tracker is one of the DairyNZ tools funded by the Milksolids Levy.

Brown said farm input costs remained high, but lower interest rates had provided some relief.

The new forecast break-even milk price is $8.36, down from previous estimates.

With an average payout of $9.92 per kilogram of milksolids (kgMS), the model suggests an average surplus of around $1.56/kgMS for the 2025–26 season.

Looking ahead to the 2026-27 season, DairyNZ forecasts a slightly lower average payout.

Key costs are expected to ease slightly, reflected in a lower break-even milk price of $8.31/kgMS.

The average surplus is forecast to remain above $1, at $1.07/kgMS.

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Brown said there were still many unknowns on the horizon globally that were affecting results.

“There’s a lot of unrest and a lot of uncertainty, as we know at the moment. So anything could happen.”

As for Matamata, Brown said the strong summer meant the district was heading into autumn on a high.

“We’ve had regular rainfall all the way through,” she said.

“We’ve got our maize silage in, record yield this year, so that was pleasing.

“I think for most people, it’s been a pretty good season around the traps...it’s nice to have that in the bag for people.”