22nd April 2026 // Rural News in partnership with Farmlands

GDT index falls for second time Southland fertiliser plant plans underway Feds back rural school assistance 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.   GDT index falls for second time The latest Global Dairy Trade auction has delivered a second consecutive price index fall overnight, with milk fats taking a sharp hit while powder prices offered some relief. The overall GDT price index fell two point seven percent, following the three point four percent drop at the previous auction — with anhydrous milkfat plunging nearly ten percent and butter dropping close to eight percent. The scale of those fat price falls exceeded market expectations, with analysts pointing to strong global supply and competitive pressure from US butter markets. The news was better for powder. Skim milk powder lifted three point two percent and New Zealand skim milk powder also maintained a premium over European product — a positive signal for local exporters. Whole milk powder edged down just half a percent, broadly in line with forecasts. Overall volumes sold were down nine percent on the previous event, with geopolitical uncertainty and elevated freight costs continuing to weigh on buyer confidence.   Southland fertiliser plant plans underway A three billion dollar urea fertiliser plant proposed for Southland could end New Zealand's dependence on imported fertiliser and deliver long-term cost certainty for farmers.  Australian-based Victorian Hydrogen is behind the project, which would produce one point five million tonnes of urea per year from a site around thirty kilometres northeast of Invercargill. Executive director Allan Blood says the project would shield farmers from volatile international markets, delivering competitively priced urea produced on home soil. Environmental management is central to the design, with captured carbon dioxide to be repurposed into cattle feed, liquid fuels, and construction materials. The project is heading for fast-track consenting, with a targeted three-year pathway to full production.   Feds back rural school assistance Federated Farmers is backing a government support package for rural schools hit hard by rising fuel costs, calling it sensible and targeted assistance that will make a real difference.  The package includes thirty-seven million dollars to replace diesel boilers at up to seventy schools, one-off cash grants of two thousand five hundred dollars for all schools with under one hundred students, and a thirty percent increase in the conveyance allowance — benefiting around five thousand students. The conveyance allowance had not been reviewed since nineteen eighty-five. Feds education spokesperson Richard Dawkins says smaller rural schools carry the same fixed costs as larger schools but spread them across far fewer students, making fuel price spikes particularly painful. The government is investing two point three five million dollars annually to grow the rural teaching workforce, expanding placement programmes and bonding schemes to attract and retain teachers in hard-to-staff rural schools.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.