Average per-cow milk production hits magic 400kgMS
The 2023/24 New Zealand Dairy Statistics report reveals trends in the dairy sector. Mark Storey, DairyNZ’s head of economics, offers insight into the numbers.
Inside Dairy
2 min read
The 2023/24 season saw a near-record average milk production per cow of 400 kilograms of milksolids, consisting of 225kg of milkfat and 176kg of protein. This figure is 6kg higher than the five-year average of 394kgMS per cow.
Dairy companies processed 20.5 billion litres of milk, containing 1.88 billion kg of milksolids. This marks a 0.8% decrease (approximately 161 million litres) in the quantity of milk processed, while there was a 0.5% increase (around 9 million kg) in kilograms of milksolids compared to the previous season.
Nationally, farmers are focused on rearing high-producing cows with good-quality milk, highlighted by record-high milkfat, protein and milksolids percentages in herd-tested cows and the lowest-ever average somatic cell count of 161,000 cells/mL.
With rising costs and increasing regulatory pressure, farmers emphasise the need for efficiency. The shift towards crossbred cows continues as farmers seek the benefit from the efficiencies of hybrid vigour and get the best traits from the two main dairy breeds.
For the first time in a while, cow numbers slightly increased by 0.57% in 2023/24, reaching 4.70 million, which is still 2% below the five-year average of 4.80 million. But the trend of fewer but larger herds continues, with 10,485 last season – 116 fewer than the previous season. The national average herd size was 448, seven cows higher than the previous season.
The increase in cows will contribute to the rise in production, but we can also credit genetic improvements across all breeds and favourable weather conditions during the 2023/24 season.
The national average herd size was 448, seven cows higher than the previous season.
The number of cows herd tested and artificially inseminated has declined following record levels in the previous season, which is likely due to the economic challenges farmers have faced in recent years.
A total of 3.62 million cows were herd tested in 2023/24, a 4% decrease from the previous season. That equates to 77.1% of cows in the national herd being herd tested in 2023/24, which was lower than the five-year average of 74.8%.
Although the 2023/24 co-operative payout ($8.90 per kilogram of milksolids) was higher than the fiveyear average in nominal terms, when adjusted for inflation, it was $0.35 below the five-year inflation-adjusted average of $9.25 per kg milksolids.
This article was originally published in Inside Dairy February-April 2025.
Find the latest New Zealand Dairy Statistics report, published jointly with LIC at
dairynz.co.nz/dairy-stats