The AIMI survey of New Zealand cereal growers, as at 1 July, 2024 is now available online.
Key Points at July 1, 2024 (figures have been rounded to the nearest 100):
- Harvest conditions were excellent across many regions. The exceptions were parts of Southland where frequent rainfall prolonged harvest and delayed the sowing of subsequent crops. South Canterbury has been very dry and autumn crops were slow to establish, recent rains have helped, and sowing conditions for spring crops are looking good.
- Overall, 2024 harvest data showed that yields were up compared to last season (by 4% over all six crops) and the area harvested was similar. The net result was a 3% increase in total tonnage compared to last season.
- Unsold stocks of feed wheat are up on this time last year (up 14,000 tonnes), and unsold feed barley stocks are down by 14,300 tonnes on last year. Unsold stocks of milling wheat are down 4,000 tonnes on last year, unsold stocks of malting barley are up 1,000 tonnes on last year, and unsold stocks of milling oats are up 1,200 tonnes on last year.
- When totalled over all six cereal crops (including oats), the 2025 harvest hectares are predicted to be 13% down on the 2024 harvest hectares (from 94,600 hectares to 82,500 hectares).