introducing our
Waikato Dairy Farming Benchmarking
waikato dairy farming benchmarking
A Standout Season for our Dairy Farming Clients.
We have recently published our 2025 season reports, which have been collated from actual cash trading data and include a data pool of 130 of our clients based across the Waikato.
The 2025 dairy season delivered strong results across our Waikato dairy farmers, who benefited from improved production, higher payouts, and lower costs, leading to greater profitability and increased cash available for Tax, Debt Repayment and other Investment.
Farm Owners: Record Gains and Strong Financial Performance
Our benchmarking data revealed a year of record breaking financial performance for farm owners, who on average experienced a 119% increase in cash available after drawings, reaching $2.71 per kgMS. This outstanding outcome was driven by a rare and powerful synergy of:
- Strong production with production per hectare at 1,127 kgMS (up 6%) and per cow at 411 kgMS (up 6%), despite climatic challenges nearer the end of the season.
- Record-breaking milk payout as an average across Waikato Dairy Companies.
- Falling interest rates, which reduced finance costs to $1.69 per kgMS (down 16%) and improved overall cost structures.
- Tightly managed production costs, with cost of production dropping to $7.08 per kgMS (down 3%).
- These factors together delivered a net income per kgMS of $3.44 (up 69%), boosting morale.
50/50 Sharemilkers: Welcomed year end cash position - up 356%
For our 50/50 sharemilker clients, 2025 was a welcomed season on cashflow and working capital. Our benchmarking data shows a 356% surge in cash available after drawings, reaching $1.46 per kgMS—a dramatic leap from the previous season’s $0.32. Key highlights this groups data were:
- Production per cow rose to 427 kgMS (up 13%), reflecting gains in efficiency and herd management.
- Cost of production fell to $2.86 per kgMS (down 14%), while finance costs dropped to $0.28 per kgMS (down 39%).
- Net income per kgMS soared to $2.08 (up 114%), and livestock income increased to $0.86 per kgMS, up from $0.66.
A season where the stars aligned
With the multiple conditions aligning, optimism is flowing into rural communities, setting the stage for the industry. It must not be overlooked either that Proactive management put in place by farmers from 2024, where the focus was heavily on cost-control, spilled over into the 2025 season also contributing to the positive outcomes. Farmers have been careful with their profits and cash and are aware of their tax position, if not been fully covered already by our proactive management of tax.
Our Benchmarking Reports.
Our Story.
We are excited to revive our Waikato Dairy Farming Benchmarking reports.
We have a long and proud history of supporting the Dairy Industry in the Waikato which is reflective of our annual Waikato Dairy Farming Benchmarking reports that span back over four decades. After some time away from producing our reports, we were excited to revive our stats in 2021.
The reports have been collated by our team from actual cash trading data of our Dairy farming clients throughout the Waikato region. The data collected is then used to work out average statistics and benchmarks across the greater Waikato Dairy Farming region. The stats currently include a data pool of over 90 clients, which we plan to grow year on year.
What’s included in the stats?
The statistics are broken down into four main client groups;
- Farm Owner/Operators
- Farm Owner with 50/50 Sharemilkers
- 50/50 Sharemilkers
- Farm Owner with Contact Milker
Different from our historic statistics, our benchmarking includes a statistics snapshot for each category, which now provides a useful one page summary and benchmarking on personal drawings.
Benchmarking: A Strategic Tool for Growth.
Our latest statistical analysis draws from the performance data of 130 Dairy Farming clients across the Waikato region, offering a valuable snapshot of how farms are tracking locally.
By benchmarking your own results against this dataset, you’ll gain clear insights into where your business is excelling, and where there’s potential to improve profitability.
This is a practical tool for identifying strengths, uncovering inefficiencies, and making informed decisions.
We encourage all our clients to measure their performance against these figures to better understand their position.
Interested in a customised report for your farm?
Get in touch.
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