“Bizarre” conditions had been affecting both the North and South Islands recently, and Mackle said DairyNZ staff was on the ground offering support where they could.
On a personal note, the wet weather came in handy on the home front.
“My wife normally has this massive list of jobs [for me to complete] so conveniently I couldn’t get them all done.”
This is because Mackle also has a large DairyNZ to-do list for 2023 and helping farmers deal with adverse weather is only one big issue of many to tackle.
He said the general election coming up this year brought uncertainty for the dairy industry.
“Some of it will be more of the same but I think with the election year there are quite a few unknowns around how different groups are going to act, and particularly towards dairy.
“Whether they’re NGOs or political parties – we haven’t seen their major policies on ag, let alone dairy, come through yet.”
Regulation was another concern.
“Some things are still bubbling away; we’ve got emissions pricing ... select committee process at some stage, I don’t know how much we’ll get nailed down before the election, frankly.”
Mackle said that the Essential Freshwater programme was also top of mind for many farmers, as all regional councils were required to have plans notified by the end of 2024.
“So there’s going to be a lot of activity this year and next year in that space.”
DairyNZ, along with other groups such as Federated Farmers and Beef + Lamb NZ, was working with councils to support farmers, Mackle said.
Listen below:
“Those plans are going to be quite important and it’s not all about emissions pricing, a lot of this is going to be about water as well.”
Aside from the weather, regulations and politics, the next item on DairyNZ’s list was finding a solution to the industry’s staffing shortage.
Mackle spoke to a few farmers who had struggled over the festive period, trying to balance their team’s break with their own.
“There wasn’t really the time off for some of them this Christmas because they were doing it tough and sending staff off for holidays.”
A focus on immigration and programmes such as Go Dairy was a step in the right direction to tackle this issue, Mackle said.
If that wasn’t enough; inflation was still pushing up on-farm costs, interest rates were rising and the milk price remained uncertain, he said.
“We at DairyNZ are going to be quite focused on that challenge of how do you etch out every dollar you can – and do all those other things as well.”
On the bright side, there was one item Mackle was looking forward to on this year’s to-do list – reconnecting with farmers at in-person events.
“Whether it be through our field team, through bringing our scientists out on the road through our farmers’ forums … that’s going to be more future-focussed and it’s going to be more positive too.
“That is our number one priority at DairyNZ – reconnecting well with farmers in a way that suits them and adds value to them and their farming businesses.”
Also in today’s interview: Mackle talks about a few more items on DairyNZ’s list - methane mitigation, plantain, nitrogen and scientific research.
