Farmers' call
OPINION: Fonterra's $4.22 billion consumer business sale to Lactalis is ruffling a few feathers outside the dairy industry.
FONTERRA CHAIRMAN John Wilson visited Fonterra's new $126 million UHT milk processing site at Waitoa on the weekend.
The site is in its final stages of testing before commissioning Anchor UHT milk and cream products at the end of this month.
Wilson says he is impressed with how quickly it had taken the site to get to this stage with construction completed in 12 months.
"It was great to get the chance to visit and meet the team who have brought our Waitoa site to life. There is a real sense of pride from the team on the ground.
"It's exciting to think that 24,000 packs per hour will soon be being produced for customers in China and throughout Asia."
Fonterra's UHT milk processing site at Waitoa will allow the cooperative to process more than 100 million litres of milk per year by August when all five of its processing lines will be operating.
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.
OPINION: The phasing out of copper network from communications is understandable.
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.