Palm kernel cap to go on Fonterra farmers soon
Fonterra will penalise farmers from June 2018 for excessive use of palm kernel, which changes the fatty acid composition of milk.
In April this year the cooperative rolled out a fat evaluation index (FEI) nationwide after tests on 200 farms with DairyNZ and AgResearch had confirmed the test was accurate.
Farmers, who have been receiving FEI results over the last few months, will have a year’s grace to adjust their farming systems. Imported palm kernel extract (PKE) changes milk fat composition, causing problems in manufacturing and in meeting customers’ specifications. Fonterra announced a voluntary guideline in 2015 of a maximum of three kilograms per cow per day.
‘‘In general, we know that in international markets we get a premium for our milk because of our pasture-based system. We see reduced PKE use as a positive step toward protecting that grass-fed reputation and our product integrity,’’ Miles Hurrell, group director co-operative affairs, said.
Federated Farmers dairy group chairman Andrew Hoggard said farmers should have time to adjust. The most obvious scenario that could cause a problem was summer drought. ’’If that happens it might start to red line, so we might need more grass silage on hand. Some farmers might have to drop a few cows to make more silage.’’
Hoggard said he used a blend of grain and PKE, and he had managed to keep within the FEI measure.
The 3kg guideline was a reasonable rough estimate, but it depended on the breed of cow.
A Fonterra spokesman said it preferred not to talk about specific amounts of PKE, but wanted farmers to focus on their results and adjust accordingly.
Some farmers were able to feed their herds up to 5kg a day and remain within the limits, but others had problems feeding less than 3kg. Since January the dairy giant had been carrying out tests at its manufacturing plants and assessing the FEI data.