Medals galore for Fonterra cheeses
Fonterra cheeses are continuing their golden run at the annual New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Fonterra’s board is flagging a number of key changes to its proposed new capital structure following farmer feedback.
A new preferred option will be presented to farmers in late September and taken to a farmer vote at its annual meeting to be held in December.
Chairman Peter McBride says the board is considering a number of changes as it thinks about what a final proposal could look like.
These include:
“We have also reconsidered voting rights in light of some feedback and at this stage our preference is for voting to continue to follow share-backed supply as it currently does,” adds McBride.
Consultation has been extensive to date, starting with the initial communication on May 6 when Consultation Booklet was sent to every farmer owner. Since then:
“We would like to thank our farmer owners for getting involved and approaching the consultation with open minds,” says McBride.
“We also want to acknowledge the uncertainty that comes along with us considering changes to our capital structure and the significant challenges that it’s creating for some farmers. The best way to give certainty is to ensure we have a full discussion as a co-op and get to a quality outcome.
“The Board maintains its belief that, in a flat or potentially declining milk environment, making changes early will put us in the best position to provide farmers with more flexibility while protecting farmer ownership and strengthening our co-op’s financial sustainability.”
Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.
Shipping disruption caused by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea has so far not impacted fertiliser prices or supply on farm.
The opportunity to spend more time on farm while providing a dedicated service for shareholders attracted new environmental manager Ben Howden to work for Waimakariri Irrigation Limited (WIL).
Federated Farmers claims that the Otago Regional Council is charging ahead unnecessarily with piling more regulation on rural communities.
Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.
OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.