DairyNZ: The ‘Five Fs’ farmers need to watch as cost pressures mount

DairyNZ chairwoman Tracy Brown spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay today.

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Fuel price pressures remain a concern for farmers, says DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown.

Brown said DairyNZ had been working closely with MPI and other government agencies to monitor the situation and keep farmers informed.

“At the moment, it seems to be more of a price issue than a supply issue; that’s the current challenge,” she told The Country’s Jamie Mackay.

Brown encouraged farmers to keep an eye on what she described as the “five Fs” — fuel, fertiliser, feed, freight and finance — and to plan where possible.

“We may not be through the worst of it yet; it may get a bit trickier, so just to be aware and to plan well.”

Brown said recent events had also highlighted the importance of resilience.

She reflected on the aftermath of Cyclone Vaianu, acknowledging that farmers in the Eastern Bay of Plenty were still dealing with power outages and disruptions.

On her own Waikato farm, she said the impact had been limited.

“We had no power for Sunday morning milking, so we were on generator for that – but power was back on by about 10am, so not too hard hit in our area.”

Turning to longer‑term challenges, Brown highlighted the Dairy Beef Opportunities programme as a major collaborative effort to address issues such as the bobby calf surplus.

The programme brings together the dairy and beef sectors, including DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb New Zealand, the Meat Industry Association, the Dairy Companies Association and MPI.

Brown said there were three parts to the programme.

“One’s around how do we improve genetics and our efficiency through genetics, Beef and Lamb’s looking after that.

“DairyNZ’s looking after the piece around lactation and mating plans so that we have good outcomes for both dairy and the beef sector.

“And then there’s that third bit around developing value chains and new markets, and the Meat Industry Association’s working on that.”

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She described the level of cooperation as “quite monumental” and said the sector was committed to finding practical solutions.

Brown was speaking to The Country from the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE) at Lincoln University.

She said events such as SIDE provided a valuable opportunity to connect with farmers face‑to‑face and share ideas at a regional level.

There was also a busy awards season ahead, which included the Dairy Industry Awards, the Young Farmer Grand Final, the Ballance Farm Environment Awards, the Ahuwhenua Trophy, and the Primary Industries New Zealand Awards.

“You always come away so inspired, going to these things,” Brown said.

“We’ve got some really top talent in our sector and young ones coming through, and it’s just great to be part of that and share in their journey and their success.”

She said recent recognition for environmental leadership included the inaugural Dairy Environment Leader Kaitiaki Award, presented to North Waikato farmer Stu Muir.

“It’s really nice to see people’s commitment and efforts recognised, you know, because they deserve it.”