Milk price certainty
Westland Milk has reaffirmed its commitment to pay farmer suppliers 10c above Fonterra farm gate milk price for the following two seasons.
Taupo-based Māori dairy company, Miraka, celebrated a major milestone last week – the production of the billionth pack of UHT milk.
The so-called UHT bricks are in fact 250ml Tetra Packs, which Miraka produces exclusively for the Chinese market.
Chief executive Richard Wyeth says UHT production for China began on August 20, 2014 and it has taken just under six years to produce the billionth pack.
“We had a fantastic celebration to mark the occasion with special guests including the Mayor of Taupo, a representative of Terry Lee, and the Chinese Consul from Auckland coming along for the occasion,” he says.
Wyeth says this is an outstanding result for the production team at Miraka. He says, according to Tetra Pack, the Miraka production line is the top performer in Australasia. UHT is an important product for Miraka accounting for 20% of their total milk supply.
Miraka has two production lines producing UHT milk and Wyeth says they plan to put in a third line to produce concentrated milk.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.
Meat processor Alliance Group is asking farmer shareholders to inject more capital in order to remain a 100% co-operative.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
Telco infrastructure provider Chorus says that it believes all Kiwis – particularly those in the rural areas – need access to high-speed, reliable broadband.