Fonterra, Sharesies join to make share trading easier
Fonterra is teaming up with wealth app provider Sharesies to make it easier for its farmer shareholders to trade co-op shares among themselves.
Fonterra has started supplying fresh milk to Australian supermarket chain Woolworths from its new multi-million plant in Cobden, western Victoria.
The plant was commissioned last week and will supply Woolworths Select own-brand milk in Victoria for 10 years.
Fonterra Australia managing director Judith Swales says the plant starts a new era at the Cobden site – “an important milestone for our Australian business and a key pillar of our strategy”.
The plant expansion will generate 50 new jobs and benefit the local community and the co-op’s farmers. It will process up to 100 million litres of milk each year.
The long-term agreement with Woolworths provides certainty for our farmers that they will have a home for their milk, says Swales.
“Everyone involved in the Cobden expansion has done an exceptional job readying the site.”
Over the next four weeks the plant will increase production of Woolworths Select milk for sale across Victoria. It will be officially launched in September.
Australian dairy farmers have welcomed the commissioning of the plant.
Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) president Noel Campbell says he expects the benefits of the long term contract to flow through to the farmers’ bottom line.
“The duration of Woolworth’s commitment with Fonterra Australia is welcome. Retail contracts with this sort of longevity provide milk processors with the security and certainty they require to invest in the industry’s capability and growth.
“The ten year contract also gives Fonterra the option to provide longer term contracts to their suppliers. Farmers are always more willing to invest onfarm when they have a certain destination for their product.”
Campbell says ADF would continue to monitor farm gate returns for farmers supplying fresh milk contracts and he encouraged all Australians to buy branded products to support Australian dairy farmers.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says New Zealand has no intention of backing down in a trade dispute with Canada over dairy products.
There have been leadership changes at the Hamilton-based Dairy Goat Co-operative, which has been struggling financially in recent years.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.
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Another 16 commercial beef farmers have been selected to take part in the Informing New Zealand Beef (INZB) programme designed to help drive the uptake of genetics in the industry.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Kiwi exporters will be $100 million better off today as the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) comes into force.