20th May 2026 // Rural News in partnership with Farmlands

NZ farmers falling behind as global climate subsidies grow Dairy prices edge higher at final auction of season Statutory review of Dairy Industry Restructuring Act begins 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. NZ farmers falling behind as global climate subsidies grow New Zealand sheep and beef farmers are facing a widening competitive disadvantage as international competitors continue to receive large-scale government subsidies to meet climate targets — while New Zealand farmers are expected to adjust without equivalent support. Updated research released by Beef and Lamb New Zealand this morning shows most international jurisdictions are directing billions in public funding toward agricultural emissions reductions, while New Zealand's framework remains largely unsubsidised. Chair Kate Acland says the organisation isn't calling for subsidies — but is pushing for more creative approaches, including efficiency-based incentives and emissions reduction credits for technology uptake. She says New Zealand needs to find a way to make a feature of achieving emissions reductions without public funding, in a world where subsidies have become the dominant signal of climate ambition. On a positive note, forty-one organisations across seventeen countries have now signed Beef and Lamb New Zealand's joint statement calling on the United Nations to adopt a split-gas approach to greenhouse gas reporting — recognising that biogenic methane behaves differently to long-lived gases like carbon dioxide. Dairy prices edge higher at final auction of season Dairy prices have finished the 2025/26 season on a positive note, with the final Global Dairy Trade auction of the year lifting point-six percent overnight to an average of seven-thousand-one-hundred-and-ninety-three New Zealand dollars per tonne. Whole milk powder, which makes up half the auction by volume and has the greatest influence on the farmgate milk price, rose one-point-two percent, while skim milk powder was effectively flat, edging up point-two percent. While whole milk powder is down twelve percent on last year, it has recovered nineteen percent since December after prices came under pressure from strong milk supply growth in New Zealand, Europe and the United States. Fonterra is forecasting a payout for the current season of between nine-forty and ten dollars per kilogram of milk solids, with a midpoint of nine-seventy. The co-operative releases its forecast for next season next week. Butter strengthened two-point-five percent. Cheddar slipped one-point-three percent. Statutory review of Dairy Industry Restructuring Act begins A required review of the legislation that has governed competition in New Zealand's dairy sector for more than two decades has officially begun, with the Ministry for Primary Industries publishing its terms of reference. The Dairy Industry Restructuring Act review will examine whether the current provisions regulating Fonterra remain necessary, fit for purpose, and deliver a net benefit to the sector. Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says the review will assess whether those provisions should be retained, repealed or amended. Two rounds of stakeholder consultation are planned, with a final report due to Parliament by June first next year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.