Fonterra farmers lock in a record 125m kgMS

Fonterra said its farmers had secured more than 125 million kilograms of milksolids (kgMS) through eight allocation rounds in the current season. The volume is above the 120m kgMS contracted across ten events in 2024 and the 114m kgMS recorded in 2025.

The cooperative still has tender windows scheduled for November and December. The October round received 630 applications across three pricing structures and allocated more than 19m kgMS covering the current production cycle and the 2027-28 season.

For the current season, the standard fixed-price option settled at a net NZ$10.03 per kgMS after service fees. More than 400 bids sought over 16m kgMS. A collar product, with a price range of NZ$9.60 to NZ$10.50 per kgMS, drew more than 50 applications and allocated over 1m kgMS.

Demand was also recorded for forward contracts for the 2027-28 season. The programme offered a net price of NZ$9.94 per kgMS, while applications covered 7.39m kgMS against an available 2.2m kgMS. Fonterra therefore applied pro-rata scaling to the allocations.

Fonterra’s fixed milk price services allow suppliers to contract part of their production at an agreed price. The source report said producers were using the programmes while facing movements in global dairy markets, interest rates, regulatory costs, inflation and farm operating expenses.

Fonterra reported that 113m kgMS had been fixed for the current season and a further 13.6m kgMS had been committed for the following cycle. The figures were released as farmers approached the final two pricing rounds of the season.