Farmers' call
OPINION: Fonterra's $4.22 billion consumer business sale to Lactalis is ruffling a few feathers outside the dairy industry.
Fonterra’s board is backing Zespri chairman Peter McBride, and Maori agribusiness leader Jamie Tuuta in the 2018 board elections.
Sitting director Ashley Waugh has also won nomination from the Fonterra board after being recommended by the independent selection panel.
This means two sitting directors- former chairman John Wilson and Nicola Shadbolt- will leave the board after the annual general meeting in Waikato on November 8.
Returning Officer Warwick Lampp announced the three nominations this morning.
He says the three candidates were nominated by the Fonterra board after being recommended by the independent selection panel.
The Fonterra Shareholders Council is also supporting the three candidates.
The directors’ election process includes two nomination options: the independent nomination process and the self-nomination process.
The self-nomination process, where farmers can stand as a candidate for the board with the support of 35 different shareholders, is now open. Nominations close on Thursday, 20 September 2018.
The full list of candidates for the Fonterra board elections will be announced on September 24.
Voting Packs, containing candidate profiles, will be mailed to eligible shareholders on Monday, 15 October 2018. Shareholders can vote by internet or post, using the first past the post, majority system. Voting closes at 10.30am on Tuesday, 6 November 2018 with the results being announced later that day.
McBride, who became Zespri chairman in 2013, has invested in the kiwifruit and dairy industries.
Tuuta was appointed Moari TV chairman in May this year. He was previously chair of the Parininihi ki Waitōtara Incorporation, the largest farmer in Taranaki and one of the largest milk suppliers to Fonterra.
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
Environment Southland's catchment improvement funding is once again available for innovative landowners in need of a boost to get their project going.
The team meeting at the Culverden Hotel was relaxed and open, despite being in the middle of calving when stress levels are at peak levels, especially in bitterly cold and wet conditions like today.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
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Driven by a lifelong passion for animals, Amy Toughey's journey from juggling three jobs with full-time study to working on cutting-edge dairy research trials shows what happens when hard work meets opportunity - and she's only just getting started.