Fonterra shaves 50c off forecast milk price
Fonterra has dropped its forecast milk price mid-point by 50c as a surge in global milk production is putting downward pressure on commodity prices.
OPINION: It's been a bad week for Fonterra.
Firstly, they were accused of dumping nitrates onto its farms dotted around manufacturing sites.
Then came the news that 170,000 litres of skim milk spilled into the Tasman Sea from its Whareroa plant in Taranaki.
The leak left globules of fat dispersed along the foreshore of Ohawe and Waihi beaches, near Hāwera.
In a similar mishap in 2008, the dairy giant spilt 110,000 litres of skim milk into the ocean from the same plant.
In a statement, Fonterra says a valve fault caused milk to overwhelm the plant’s wastewater system, which released milk into the waste water drain instead of it reaching its intended location in another milk silo.
The Government is set to announce two new acts to replace the contentious Resource Management Act (RMA) with the Prime Minister hinting that consents required by farmers could reduce by 46%.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change would be “a really dumb move”.
The University of Waikato has broken ground on its new medical school building.
Undoubtedly the doyen of rural culture, always with a wry smile, our favourite ginger ninja, Te Radar, in conjunction with his wife Ruth Spencer, has recently released an enchanting, yet educational read centred around rural New Zealand in one hundred objects.
Farmers are being urged to keep on top of measures to control Cysticerus ovis - or sheep measles - following a spike in infection rates.
The avocado industry is facing an extremely challenging season with all parts of the supply chain, especially growers, being warned to prepare for any eventuality.
OPINION: Dipping global dairy prices have already resulted in Irish farmers facing a price cut from processors.
OPINION: Are the heydays of soaring global demand for butter over?