News

Dumping milk in New Zealand

A leak in a major gas line supplying the upper north island of New Zealand has prompted Fonterra to shut down 15 milk processing plants resulting in the dumping of about 8 million gallons of milk per day. There are two coal-fired plants on the island but they can handle about 1.3 million gallons per day at best. It is not known what caused the leak in the White Cliffs area and it is not known how long it will take to fix it. All industrial users on the island have been asked to stop using gas.

This comes at a time just when the new milk production season is off to a great start in New Zealand. Dairy Market News reports thanks to favorable winter weather and good springtime conditions, pasture growth is excellent and milk production in New Zealand is running 13 percent above year-ago levels. In fact, USDA’s yearly milk production estimates for New Zealand are being adjusted higher.