Divestment means Fonterra can focus on its strengths
OPINION: Fonterra's board has certainly presented us, as shareholders, with a major issue to consider.
Former Fonterra director Leonie Guiney says the co-op is facing a crisis of confidence.
She says the dairy co-op’s balance sheet is no longer in a position to handle more of the investment culture, while its leadership continues to deny there are any issues with strategic direction.
Guiney, a director for three years, says because the current leadership is overseeing the recruitment of a new chief executive, farmers face more of the same from the co-op.
“We have no indication of any review of Fonterra’s strategic direction, however, before they make this choice,” Guiney told Rural News.
“It’s hard to know what type of person you need if you haven’t articulated where you are going. When Fonterra has clarified a strategic direction shareholders can support with their capital, we will be able to employ the appropriate management and we will retain our milk supply.
“That may be specialist ingredients experience, for example, an area in which we have competitive strengths.
“Whatever the choices, Fonterra shareholders aren’t fools; they’ve heard the rhetoric on offshore milk pools for example, but they can read the numbers; these are not delivering to NZ farmers,” Guiney says.
“I firmly believe we must work together to retain our competitiveness and that our future is a cooperative one, but not without accountability for board and management’s performance with the owners’ capital.”
Guiney claims that if shareholders are not convinced, they will leave with their milk, which ultimately leaves Fonterra uncompetitive within NZ and in a destructive procurement-war cycle.
“We don’t need to let ourselves get to that position; what we do need is better-targeted investment in our areas of comparative advantages.”
Meat co-operative, Alliance has met with a group of farmer shareholders, who oppose the sale of a controlling stake in the co-op to Irish company Dawn Meats.
Rollovers of quad bikes or ATVs towing calf milk trailers have typically prompted a Safety Alert from Safer Farms, the industry-led organisation dedicated to fostering a safer farming culture across New Zealand.
The Government has announced it has invested $8 million in lower methane dairy genetics research.
A group of Kiwi farmers are urging Alliance farmer-shareholders to vote against a deal that would see the red meat co-operative sell approximately $270 million in shares to Ireland's Dawn Meats.
In a few hundred words it's impossible to adequately describe the outstanding contribution that James Brendan Bolger made to New Zealand since he first entered politics in 1972.
Dawn Meats is set to increase its proposed investment in Alliance Group by up to $25 million following stronger than forecast year-end results by Alliance.
OPINION: Ageing lefty Chris Trotter reckons that the decision to delay recognition of Palestinian statehood is more than just a fit…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly recently met someone at a BBQ who works at a big consulting firm who spent…