Milk price certainty
Westland Milk has reaffirmed its commitment to pay farmer suppliers 10c above Fonterra farm gate milk price for the following two seasons.
Westgold Unsalted Butter won Food for Chefs Champion Butter at the prestigious New Zealand Champions of Cheese awards on Tuesday.
The award was won ahead of marketing preparations to launch Westgold nationally.
Master judge Russell Smith says the butter won the supreme butter award because it was, "The sort of butter you just want to slather more and more on. It's a very good example of a technically well-made butter resulting in an even, smooth texture and delicate, sweet flavours."
Manufactured by Westland Milk Products, Westgold butter has been sold throughout the world for more than 12 years. However, it has had limited availability on New Zealand supermarket shelves. This is about to change.
"We've sold Westgold internationally for years but recently decided it was time to share the West Coast's best kept secret with our fellow New Zealanders," says Westland Milk Products chief executive Rod Quin.
"If you live in Azerbaijan you probably already know that Westgold butter is a premium product." Quin said, "but most Kiwis wouldn't know that the champion butter in New Zealand is produced in Hokitika. The best butter starts with the best cream, and our farmers have a high percentage of Jersey cows in their herds, known for producing high quality cream."
Westland conducted a complete redevelopment of Westgold in preparation for the launch on to retail shelves, planned for next week.
"We wanted to develop Westgold to reflect what makes the people and product unique," Quin said. "The butter has new packaging designed to give it a uniquely Kiwi look, while retaining the golden foil that keeps the butter fresh and looking great. The new packaging will be made available to all of our consumers around the globe, but it all starts with New Zealand."
"Behind Westgold is a tradition of making butter on the West Coast dating back to 1893. The process of butter making at Westland's Hokitika factory has been refined over generations to become both an art and a science. Using time-honoured processes based on traditional batch churning, our butter-makers take quality, fresh cream and turn it into the butter that has now been recognised as New Zealand's best."
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.
World Veterinary Day falls on Saturday 27 April.
The Director General of MPI, Ray Smith says it's important for his department to celebrate the success of a whole range of groups and people around the country.
A small company which mobilised veterinarians around the country to deal with Mycoplasma bovis was one of the winners in this year's Biosecurity Awards, held at Parliament.
One of the country's top Māori sheep and beef farms is facing a five-year battle to get back to where it was before Cyclone Gabrielle struck just over 14 months ago.
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