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.
About 9000 Fonterra farmers have so far bought goods and services via the co-op’s new Farm Source rewards scheme, earning $3 million in reward dollars.
Farm Source stores director Jason Minkhorst says fuel and electricity are among their purchases.
There are now three South Island stores – Methven and Culverden in Canterbury and new this month at Otautau in Southland.
The first North Island hub will open in Marton in the next few months.
Minkhorst says Farm Source supports farmers, offering them a convenient home base to use in town.
“We already have a network of rural retail stores we’re building on and expanding so farmers can access more support…. Before Otautau farmers needed to drive to Invercargill for supplies… or wait for the team to visit them.”
Otautau’s Farm Source store manager David Sinclair says the team there includes sales assistants, a technical sales representative and an area manager “who have a good understanding of the regional conditions, council regulations and what’s important to our farmers here”.
The store sells rural supplies and offers access to exclusive deals and facilities like meeting rooms, free wifi or drop-in space to make a coffee and relax.
Minkhorst says the roll-out of the Farm Source stores will happen over time. “We know things are tough… right now so are only making necessary improvements to our existing stores.”
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.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
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…