A rollercoaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says the co-op is investing $750 million to lift processing capability over the peak processing months.
The co-op hopes to lift New Zealand processing capability by 8.2m litres/day by 2016; this includes lifting Litchfield plant's capability by 4.4mL/day, Edendale 1.4mL/day and Pahiatua 2.4mL/day.
Spierings says very strong milk flows and an extended peak season stretched the co-op's powders capacity and forced it to make lower-returning products.
"We fast-tracked investments to expand our New Zealand capacity and undertook immediate projects to maximise output from existing plants," he says.
"As these have come on stream we have announced further investments to keep us ahead of the milk curve and provide more options for the most profitable end use of our farmer shareholders' milk.
"This gives us more flexibility with what we make and where we make it and lifts our operational efficiency."
Spierings says Fonterra can meet customer demand and keep its farmgate milk price competitive by having New Zealand sites focus as much as possible on products with higher stream returns.
Apart from investment in processing capability, the co-op has also spent $260m on plants supplying products to the foodservice industry.
About $72m was spent at the Clandeboye plant in Canterbury to double grated mozzarella capacity.
At the Eltham site, $32m was spent on boosting slice-on-slice cheese making; at Te Rapa another $32m was spent on cream cheese production.
The Ministry for the Environment (MfE) has found itself in a stoush with NZPork over the controversial National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (NPS-HPL).
Fonterra says the sale of its global consumer business and its Oceania and Sri Lankan operations could take 18 months to complete.
The lobby group the Methane Science Accord (MSA) says it welcomes a recent government move to seek outside advice on reducing biological methane targets, rather than relying on recommendations made by the Climate Change Commission.
Well-known scientist Jock Allison has passed away.
After a decade of consultation and court battles, Environment Southland has officially adopted a plan to prevent further decline in the region's water quality.
Farmers are throwing down the gauntlet to politicians - hold an independent inquiry into rural bank lending or face tough questions from the farming sector.
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