Positive signs
THERE has been a slight increase in milk production in the dairy industry with average production per cow increasing to 6.5 litres of milk this year compared with 5 litres in 2018.
Fiji Cooperative Dairy Company Ltd (FCDCL) chairman Simon Cole yesterday said the positive news on the recovery of the industry could be attributed in large part to the recent 14 per cent rise in the milk price paid to the farmer.
“With the additional income, farmers can at last see a reason to invest time, effort and funding into their farms; prior to the increase, money was not available for development,” he said.
Mr Cole said increased production required a better understanding of the management of a cow through a lactation which was also the quickest way to produce more milk and stressed on the need to rebuild the herd.
He said initiatives were in progress to improve calf production and farmers must look at ways of bringing non-productive cows (not pregnant) back into production.
According to the FCDCL hardest hit have been the larger suppliers with lower total production reflecting the high percentage of cows lost however smaller farms have not lost so many cows and their total production has not declined in 2019.
“But full recovery will take time, bovine tuberculosis has already required the slaughter of a substantial number of cows and, although we expect to see a decline in these losses in the coming years, it could be as many as five years before we can fully control the disease,” he said.
Mr Cole said farmers had benefited from the ongoing extension advice provided through the Fiji Dairy Industry Development Initiative funded by the government of New Zealand and continuing support from the Government of Fiji.