Why Fonterra accepted defeat in the dairy aisle
OPINION: Fonterra's sale of its consumer dairy business to Lactalis is a clear sign of the co-operative’s failure to compete in the branded consumer market.
Dry weather in some parts of the country is beginning to affect milk production, says Fonterra.
In December 2019, the co-op collected 184 million kgMS from farmer suppliers: 0.6% down for the same month in 2018, according to its monthly global dairy update.
Season to date collection was over 909m kgMS, 0.5% down on the previous season.
North Island milk collection in December was 106.4 million kgMS, down 2.5% on last December. Season to date collection was 564 million kgMS, down 0.4% on last season.
Fonterra says December weather had some impact on pasture quality in some northern regions, however grazing crops are doing well, and cow condition remain very good.
South Island milk collection in December was 77 million kgMS, up 2.2% on last December. Season to date collection was 345 million kgMS, down 0.6% on last season.
“Favorable weather conditions across Canterbury continued, allowing for excellent pasture growth rates,” it says.
Overall milk solids collection in NZ fared slightly better than Fonterra’s.
New Zealand milk production was down 0.5% on a litre basis (up 0.2% on a milk solids basis) in December compared to the same period in the prior year.
NZPork has appointed Auckland-based Paul Bucknell as its new chair.
The Government claims to have delivered on its election promise to protect productive farmland from emissions trading scheme (ETS) but red meat farmers aren’t happy.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
OPINION: Should cows in NZ be microchipped?
OPINION: Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the…