Fonterra expands butter production at Clandeboye with $75m investment
Fonterra is boosting its butter production capacity to meet growing demand.
A renunion of two innovative dairy brands is aimed at pleasing butter lovers.
Lewis Road Creamery has again teamed up with Whittaker’s to deliver Chocolate Butter, the first of its kind on supermarket shelves. The spread combines Lewis Road’s award-winning butter with Whittaker’s 72% Dark Ghana chocolate.
Lewis Road founder Peter Cullinane says the idea for a chocolate butter emerged during an afternoon tea of French pastries at the Lewis Road kitchen table.
“The French, who know a thing or two about butter, chocolate and pastries, have always had a soft spot for pain au chocolat and it got us thinking-- combine butter and chocolate in an easy-to-spread blend good with almost anything.
“We were off to the patisserie for more croissants then got out the blender to mix up a batch of chocolate and butter. We knew we were onto something special.”
Other so-called chocolate spreads contain a lot of palm oil, sugar but no real chocolate, Cullinane says.
“Our Chocolate Butter... is a real chocolate spread made from simple, quality ingredients.”
Holly Whittaker says the chocolate butter is an example of true innovation.
“Our customers love it when they see their favourite chocolate used in new ways.... We can’t wait to hear what New Zealanders think.”
In store chillers the product comes in gold pottles located next to Lewis Road’s other premium butters. It was launched October 20. RRP $8.99.
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
Ravensdown's next evolution in smart farming technology, HawkEye Pro, was awarded the Technology Section Award at the Southern Field Days Farm Innovation Awards in February 2026.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.
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