Editorial: Well Done, Miles!
OPINION: In 2018, when Fonterra’s board tapped Miles Hurrell to step in as interim chief executive, the co-operative was in the doldrums.
A Beef + Lamb NZ director who ‘liked’ an anti-farming newspaper columnist's tweet last week has raised eyebrows in farming circles.
Read: Cheap shots offend many.
NZ Herald columnist Rachael Stewart is facing backlash on social media for falsely implying last year that former Fonterra chairman John Wilson was faking ill-health.
Following news of Wilson's death, Stewart tweeted last week, “Turns out John wasn’t in “fine fettle” - but neither was Fonterra at the time. Before his deification gathers full steam, who do I make my unreserved apology out to?”
Melissa Clark-Reynolds, who follows Stewart, says she liked the “apology” Rachael Stewart tweeted last week. She liked a further tweet by Stewart, "I normally never drink 'mother's ruin' but, given a day of heat as I've never felt before in NZ, I'm about to pour a Rogue gin, with tonic, ice and lime. Thought For The Day: Even when you apologise, some people will never accept it. Why? Because they just don't like you. CHEERS!"
An independent director, appointed by the BLNZ board, Clark-Reynolds has refused to apologise to farmers for her thoughtless action, but concedes Stewart’s initial tweet about John Wilson’s was “atrocious”.
“I liked the fact that she apologised last week.”
BLNZ chairman Andrew Morrison was asked if Clark-Reynolds – who is paid $33,000 a year by meat levy payers, many of them Fonterra shareholders – should apologise to dairy farmers, most of them also BLNZ levy payers.
“Beef + Lamb New Zealand has extended its condolences to John Wilson’s family and friends following his recent passing. Melissa Clark-Reynolds uses her Twitter account in a personal capacity,” Morrison told Rural News.
Winning four of the big categories at the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards feels special, says Meyer Cheese general manager Miel Meyer.
Local cheesemakers are being urged to embrace competition from imports but also ensure their products are never invisible in the country.
Ireland's Minister of state for Agriculture says it’s hard to explain to Irish farmers the size and scale of NZ farms.
Dairy farming in New Zealand offers career progression and this has motivated 2026 Central Plateau Share Farmers of the Year Navdeep Singh and Jobanpreet Kaur.
A partnership between Canterbury milk processor Synlait and the world's largest food producer, Nestlé, has been celebrated with a visit to a North Canterbury farm by a group including senior staff from Synlait, the Ravensdown subsidiary EcoPond, and Nestlé's Switzerland head office.
Canterbury milk processor Synlait is blaming what it calls "a perfect storm" of setbacks for a big loss in its half year result for the six months ended January 31, 2026.

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