'Perfect storm' strikes Taranaki Agricultural Research Trust's dairy units

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The Westpac Taranaki Agricultural Research Trust, which operates two dairy units at Whareroa, has been just as hard hit as everyone else by lower income and higher costs during the 2009 trading year.

Chairman David Hopkins said in his annual report it was "a perfect storm situation. The ability to lower costs on a research station is limited compared to a commercial farm. The trustees have adopted a policy of cutting expenditure without impacting on science, a big ask. We have ended up with a red ink budget, but long-term outcomes are of far greater importance."

The No 1 unit production was up from 93,621 to 100,946kg/milk solids, but revenue dropped from $864,090 to $609,634, and costs went up from $688,162 to $775,549. The bottom line was a loss of $151,517 compared to a profit the previous year of $187,287.

The No 2 unit: Production 83,360 (71,354) kg/ms; income down by $64,720, costs up by $54,073; net surplus down from $122,679 to $6930.

The trust is supported by DairyNZ, Fonterra, Westpac Bank and Ballance Agri- Nutrients; dairy farmers provide the bulk of the science funding through levies.

The large-scale feed conversion efficiency trial being undertaken currently, he rates as potentially the most influential research, since the development of the national dairy livestock database and the high-low breeding index trials done at Massey and Ruakura. "Forty years from now this research will be recognised as being the first attempt at intensive natural selection using all known technologies available at that time," Mr Hopkins said.

- © Fairfax NZ News