Year-on-year milk production growth on a global scale has continued to slow in the final months of 2018 as the lingering effects of the dry summer become even more apparent, according to the latest report from Rabobank.

Growth in milk production has stalled in Europe as a result of the dry summer weather, and it declined significantly in Australia due to the lack of silage and quality forage. As a result, global production of milk fell 0.8% on the year in the three months from July to September with the amount still to be calculated for the final quarter.

Milk production growth has stalled in Europe and significantly declined in Australia as a result of the adverse weather limiting availability of quality silage. In the three months from July to September, global production growth sank to just 0.8% on the year, and numbers for the final quarter of the year are indicative of similarly modest growth rates.

According to Rabobank, Australian milk production fell 4% from July to October while production in Europe increased by 1.2% between January and September. It also expects the summer drought will continue to impact production in Europe into the spring of 2019 as some countries are still experiencing significant soil moisture deficits.

In contrast, New Zealand remains a top performer with new records set for peak milk flows in October. June to October collections were up 6% on the year, and consequently Rabobank’s full-year season milk production forecast through to Q2 2019 has been lifted to 4.5%.

Plentiful pasture growth has allowed supplementary feed to be harvested to cover any unexpected dry periods. However, a slowdown in New Zealand milk production growth is likely going into 2019 and 2020 as the exceptional seasonal conditions of this year are unlikely to be repeated.