Grant Edwards
Professor of Dairy Production
The dairy industry makes a large and growing contribution to the New Zealand economy. The 4.6 million lactating dairy cows in New Zealand produce around 1.3 billion kilograms of milksolids every year and contribute $11 billion of export earnings to the New Zealand economy. The industry is predominantly an export business, with less than five per cent of production consumed domestically. New Zealand remains the world’s largest exporter of dairy ingredients, accounting for more than a third of the traded market.
The current global supply and demand balance for dairy products favours dairy farmers, driving high demand and imperatives for increased productivity in the dairy industry. However, New Zealand’s dairy farmers must remain focused on resilient farming systems with relatively low fixed costs in order to remain competitive against low cost producers in a volatile international market. Increasing the amount and quality of home-grown forage, along with more with more efficient cows, is a key part of improving productivity while maintaining cost competitiveness.
There is also the emergence of new imperatives for dairy farming in New Zealand. There is a tension between ambitious production and productivity goals and the need to reduce dairy farming’s environmental footprint. Dairy farming is also in the spotlight as a key contributor to greenhouse gases and so to global warming. There is also increasing demands from global retail companies on how to produce milk in ways that satisfy their customer’s expectations on environment and welfare. The importance of the international market means dairy farming in New Zealand must always be considered in the wider global context, taking into account public perception and international influences.
A key part to enabling growth of the dairy industry is to ensure that talented and skilled people are attracted to, and retained by the dairy industry. Skilled people are increasingly important both on-farm, in allied industries, in food safety and processing, and in environmental resource management. Growth and ownership changes in dairy farming mean that more people are needed on-farm and in supporting industries. The increased complexity, diversity and volatility of dairy farming means that skill levels across the industry need to improve.
To grow the dairy industry requires graduates in tune with approaches to use resources effectively through integration of improved options into farming systems. It requires graduates with knowledge of farming practices that ensure high quality and the value of milk production in maintained. Dairy business managers will need the financial and business skills to evaluate options to achieve dairy industry goals, and the industry will need to provide information and decision support systems, together with tools and processes, that enhance farm and resource management so that the dairy industry reputation is enhanced locally and globally.