A tough time for dairy farmers with expenses up, and profits down

An industry survey's shown a suite of challenges for dairy producers, including a drop in the payout for milk solids, and a reduction in herd size.

It's caused operating profits to be down 27-percent.

Mark Neal, Head of Data Science at Dairy NZ says it's emblematic of wider economic challenges.

He says farmers, like the rest of New Zealanders, are battling inflation, and are being forced to watch costs.