Fonterra Names Four Independently Assessed Director Candidates
Fonterra Co-operative Group has confirmed the independently assessed candidates standing for election to its board in 2026.
FONTERRA'S DECISION to pump $555 million into Edendale and Lichfield plant upgrades represents a huge vote of confidence in the dairy industry and the provinces.
Federated Farmers Dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard says the investments will be "a great shot in the arm for jobs building this new capacity, let alone the 75 full-time jobs that will be generated plus many more downstream jobs that will flow from it".
"We're more than pleased to see this investment ahead of this season's peak-milk, given last year's buttermilk lakes represented a lost opportunity.
"Fonterra has recognised the need for more capacity with investments worth over half a billion dollars.
"It also shows how wrong it is to think that milk is a low value export."
Fonterra has announced that approval has been given to build a drier at the Lichfield site in South Waikato:
• Capable of processing up to 4.4 million litres per day
• Similar in size to the world's largest drier at Darfield which produces up to 30 metric tonnes of Whole Milk Powder per hour, and 700 metric tonnes per day
• Will use the latest energy-efficient processing and water reuse technology.
Three plants will also be installed at the Edendale site in Southland:
• Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) plant which separates protein from skim milk and turns it into protein powder – capable of processing 1.1 million litres per day
• Reverse Osmosis (RO) plant which will increase capacity on an existing drier by 300,000 litres per day
• Anhydrous Milk Fat (AMF) plant capable of processing 550,000 litres of milk into cream per day.
New Plymouth-based Manuka honey exporter Egmont Honey has completed its acquisition of Taihape beekeeping business Tweeddale's Honey, with settlement finalised on Friday, 18 September.
Westpac NZ is calling on farmers and growers to start preparing now for the possibility of a dry summer, as likely El Niño conditions raise the risk of drought across parts of the country.
Fonterra Co-operative Group has confirmed the independently assessed candidates standing for election to its board in 2026.
Fonterra has revised its Farmgate Milk Price forecast for the 2026/27 season, lifting the midpoint and narrowing the range on the back of improving global dairy commodity prices.
New Zealand's citrus growers were challenged to build their future on the value embedded in their fruit rather than the volume they produce, at Citrus New Zealand's annual gathering in Gisborne on 17 September.
Leading John Deere technicians and apprentices from New Zealand and Australians were recognised at the recent sixth annual JD Technician of the Year Awards, held in Brisbane.
OPINION: It seems Canterbury processor Synlait is still in the doldrums.
OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.