Agsafe Weekly Rural Report

 

Finance:  The NZ dollar eased slightly through the week finishing below the levels of last week.    Brent Crude remains steady below $US80 per barrel. 

Wool:  Wool prices remain in the doldrums but some people are still positive it can change. Any uses must ensure that the farmers receive a reasonable return and can afford to shear the sheep.

Beef, Sheep & Venison schedules: The sheep and beef schedules are mostly steady across the country.  Venison prices have eased from the pre-Christmas levels but are still good.  

Dairy Prices:  The g/DT (16th Jan) lifted 2.3% with WMP up 1.7% to $US3352/tn.  SMP lifted 1.2% & cheddar was up 1.0%.  There are signs that the payout may be closer to $8, with one bank lifting its forecast to $7.85 during the week.

Autumn calving cows should be drying off over the next 2-weeks to allow them the minimum 6-week dry time.  If you are spring and autumn calving ensure that any autumn calvers that have been treated with “Dry-Cow” threatments cannot get mixed back into the milking herd.  Some sort of identification is recommended from tags to leg-bands or tail markers.