17th June 2026 // Rural News in partnership with Farmlands

Dairy prices fall for second consecutive auction Farmer confidence dips but remains positive despite rising costs Environmental reporting laws to be modernised Rural News is in partnership with Farmlands as part of CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp - our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch / listen.   Dairy prices fall for second consecutive auction Global dairy prices have dropped for a second straight auction, with growing milk supply across major exporting regions continuing to weigh on the market. The GDT index fell two-point-eight percent overnight. Whole milk powder dropped three-point-one percent, with skim milk powder falling three-point-six percent. NZX head of dairy insights Cristina Alvarado says while the result confirmed bearish market sentiment, demand held up well enough to prevent a deeper correction. Market expectations heading into the auction were firmly negative following a weak GDT Pulse result last week and strong production growth across key dairy regions. For kiwi farmers, the timing is relatively low risk — June and July are the country's lowest milk production months with most farms dried off ahead of calving. Fonterra opened the new season with a forecast of nine-seventy-five per kilogram of milk solids, within a wide range of eight to eleven dollars.   Farmer confidence dips but remains positive despite rising costs Meanwhile farmers remain broadly optimistic about the year ahead, but confidence has eased this quarter as rising fuel and fertiliser costs driven by the Middle East conflict take a toll. The latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey found farmer sentiment dropped to a net positive reading of fourteen percent — down from thirty-one percent last quarter — but remained positive for the eighth consecutive quarter. Among those with a negative outlook, rising input costs were cited by seventy-four percent as the main concern. Sheep and beef farmers remain the most optimistic of all sectors, with four in ten expecting their own farm performance to improve in the year ahead and tight global red meat supply supporting confidence. Horticulturalists are the least optimistic, with the sector evenly split between those expecting improvement and those expecting conditions to worsen. Investment intentions remain solid, with around a third of farmers planning to increase investment — a result the survey says was reflected in strong sales reported by retailers at last week's Fieldays. The survey was completed between May eighteenth and June fifth — prior to the recent ceasefire developments in the Middle East.   Environmental reporting laws to be modernised The Government has introduced legislation to update New Zealand's environmental reporting regime, with Environment Minister Nicola Grigg saying the current system is inflexible and no longer fit for purpose. The amendments to the Environmental Reporting Act will improve data quality and accessibility, introduce a new priorities report to identify critical environmental investment gaps, and adjust reporting timeframes — with the comprehensive state of environment report moving from three-yearly to every six years, and routine reporting from six-monthly to annually. Grigg says the changes will give decision-makers and the public clearer, more useful information about the state of the environment — and will form an important foundation for the newly created Ministry of Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport. The legislation sits alongside a sixty-one million dollar investment in environmental data to support the new planning system.   WANT TO LISTEN TO THE SHOW LIVE (11am-1pm NZST) ON THE GO? Download CountryWide Connect mobile app to stream the show via Apple Car Play or Android Auto. Or try the voice command ‘Play CountryWide Connect’ on Amazon Alexa or Google Home.   Apple: https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/countrywide-connect/id6761033881 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.countrywide&hl=en_NZSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.