Bank's desire to be part of the solution
ASB says the decision to sign on to the AgriZeroNZ joint venture came out of a wish to be a part of the solution.
Fonterra is closing its Brightwater site in Nelson in April next year, with 30 staff set to lose their jobs.
However, Fonterra chief operating officer Fraser Whineray says the workers are highly skilled and is confident they’ll be able to secure new roles.
Whineray says the priority right now is supporting them.
“It’s no doubt tough news for some of the Brightwater team and we’ll be working with them in the coming months on their future options, including redeployment opportunities within the co-op.”
The small aging plant at Brightwater will continue as a milk collection site as Fonterra moves its milk transfer activities there from Tuamarina.
Brightwater processes only about 0.25% of the co-operative’s overall milk supply into whole milk powder. Whineray says the move to close the milk processing plant, which will instead see the milk being processed at Fonterra’s Darfield site, is in line with Fonterra’s long-term strategy.
“We know milk supply is declining over time, flat at best, so we need to make sure we’re getting the most out of every drop of milk and optimising our plants to match both consumer demand and available milk supply.
“This, along with forecast capital and maintenance costs, means we’ve made the tough decision to close our milk powder plant at Brightwater.
“We’re continually working to ensure our assets across the country are as efficient as they can be, changing product mixes, and moving more milk into value-add products.”
Third-year student Cady Burns has won the Waikato Regional Council Prize in Water Science for 2024.
The Rural Change programme, providing free private mental health professional sessions to the rural industry, is set to continue its next chapter within Rural Support Trust from 1 July 2024.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive Sam McIvor will step down in July.
A new report shows farm employers across the dairy, sheep and beef, and arable sectors have continued to invest strongly in one of their greatest assets – their staff.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
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