A Year of Delivery for Fonterra
Fonterra’s 2026 financial year was a year of delivery, with record volumes of milk collected, processed and shipped by the co-op.
Fonterra farmers will vote for three new directors this year.
Nominations have opened and all candidates will be announced on September 25.
Shareholders voted last year to reduce the number of farmer-elected directors to seven, down from nine.
Last year three farmer-elected directors retired by rotation and only two vacancies were filled.
This year three farmer-elected directors – John Monaghan, Leonie Guiney and David McLeod -- retire by rotation. But a casual vacancy arose when Michael Spaans resigned for health reasons. Ian Farrelly was recalled to fill that vacancy until the election.
No sitting director is allowed to publicly announce their candidacy until the independent selection process is complete.
Independent nominations will come first; nominees’ names are due with the returning officer, Warwick Lampp, of electionz.com, by August 7.
He will name those candidates in early September.
Self-nominations close on September 21 (farmers can nominate themselves for a directorship without having to go through the independent nomination process).
The returning officer will confirm all farmer-directors candidates on September 25.
Fonterra has confirmed the three members of its independent selection panel for the 2017 director elections: Dame Alison Paterson (chair); John Spencer (board appointee); and Tony Carter (shareholders council appointee).
Overseer Ltd has released an update to OverseerFM, the farm environmental modelling software, incorporating research findings that refine its estimates of crop nitrogen uptake.
New Zealand's red meat sector says it is disappointed that the United States' investigation into lamb imports will move to its next phase.
Three men have been sentenced in District Courts after Ministry for Primary Industries prosecutions over animal welfare, food safety and cattle tracing offences.
Fonterra’s 2026 financial year was a year of delivery, with record volumes of milk collected, processed and shipped by the co-op.
OPINION: The Government's decision to reinstate agriculture and horticultural science as a standalone subject from Year 11 is the right one.
Dairy farmers, still holding onto their Fonterra shares despite switching milk supply elsewhere or exiting the industry, now face a stricter share sell-down requirement.