Fonterra will set yet another record this season – this time it is expecting to collect a record volume of milk from the country’s dairy farmers.

The long warm autumn has created the best pasture growing conditions in years, especially north of Taupo, more than making up for the cold wet start to spring.

The official season closes in two weeks time and Fonterra says production is already at least four percent ahead of last year when they collected 1286 million kilograms of milk solids.

The stellar pasture growth means herds are largely in good condition which bodes well for calving and next season’s start.

The news comes on the back of other records set this season including a record forecast payout of nearly $8 a kilo, record international commodity prices for dairy, and Fonterra exporting a record amount of milk powder – 229,000 tonnes in March.

Overnight dairy prices dropped 1.1 percent on average at the Fonterra online global dairy auction but are still at historically high levels.