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.
Fonterra's chairman Henry van der Heyden says the board regrets Simon Couper's decision to stand down as Shareholders Council chairman.
"But if Simon is uncomfortable, he has done the right thing by the cooperative," he says.
"The board is grateful to Simon for his eight years of service to Fonterra."
Couper resigned yesterday after expressing reservations about TAF's ability to maintain 100% farmer control and ownership. The new chairman Ian Brown has expressed support for TAF.
Van der Heyden says the Shareholder Council had pulled out all stops to complete their due diligence on TAF in order to provide shareholders with their independent evaluation of the package before farmers had their final vote on June 25.
"When we are making such a significant decision to protect the cooperative, it is important that the board and council are able to stand shoulder to shoulder. So the board is delighted to have council's support," Sir Henry said.
"When we announced the special meeting we said that we wanted to have this final vote to unify the cooperative. With board and council unified on Trading Among Farmers we are now a long way down that track."
The notice of meeting pack will be mailed to shareholders at the end of next week and the board is encouraging all shareholders to exercise their vote and to have their say.
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.
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'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.