Rugby fans now have a reason to follow the dairy industry with farmgate milk payout prices being used as a tool to predict the All Blacks fortunes at the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Rural economists at NZX have been looking at data on Fonterra's milk price payouts from previous Rugby World Cup years to predict whether the All Blacks will take home the trophy.
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Head of analytics at NZX, Julia Jones told Magic Talk's Dominic George that they looked for any links between positive farmgate prices and an All Blacks' win.
"In the years that we have had higher milk payouts we are most likely to have the win in the Rugby World Cup," she said.
"NZX is forecasting over $7 a kilo for the milk payout price for the coming season, so from that we said, given the other results we are obviously going to win."
Jones said the study was a way of bringing some fun to much of the serious news facing the rural sector.
"We really wanted to do something that was a bit of fun which brought together our dairy and rugby culture."
With the NZX milk price forecast for the 2019-20 season this week lifting 14 cents to $7.20/kg of milk solids, rugby fans will be hoping the economists are right.
Listen to Julia Jones' interview.
Newshub.
