Barley prices set to skyrocket

Hew Dalrymple, North Island spokesman for Federated Farmers' grains council, predicted the grain - a common ingredient in beer and an important supplementary feed for livestock - would leap in price from $270 a tonne last year to around $400 a tonne in the new season.

He said this was because dairy farmers in the South Island were buying as much of it as possible to boost production in a year when Fonterra has forecast a record payout of $5.53 a kg of milk solids.

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