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One of the architects of Fonterra says he’s very disappointed with the co-op’s performance over the years.
Tirau farmer, Tony Wilding says farmers expected better when they formed the co-op in 2001.
“It’s not the performance we had in mind when we formed Fonterra,” he told Rural News.
Wilding received a New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year’s honours list for his contribution to the dairy sector and community.
Read: Dairy leader’s award richly deserved.
He was part of the negotiation team that merged Kiwi Cooperative Dairies and New Zealand Dairy Group, with the New Zealand Dairy Board to form Fonterra.
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Tony Wilding. |
With the negotiations tying up then NZDG chairman Henry van der Heyden and his deputy John Roadley for months, Wilding stepped up to serve as NZDG’s acting deputy chair. Despite his criticism Wilding fully supports Fonterra, pointing out he’s happy with the shift in strategy.
Wilding is also happy that “the days of hiring high-flying overseas CEO” are over.
He fully supports the appointment of New Zealander Miles Hurrell as chief executive last year.
“There is nothing wrong with us, Kiwis”.
In the past, much has been made of the concept of farm to fork, but an Australian expert in food science and marketing with experience in the dairy industry, Dr Angeline Achariya, says the reverse of this slogan is critical to win modern day consumers.
A four year trial has reaffirmed that mixing plantain into dairy pastures can help reduce nitrogen losses to freshwater while maintaining milk production and profitability, say researchers.
Fonterra has opened its upgraded Chengdu Application Centre, bringing New Zealand dairy expertise closer to customers in one of China's fastest-growing regions.
Tatua chair Stephen Allen says he leaves the co-op with a deep sense of gratitude for the people who have contributed to its success.
Federated Farmers president Colin Hurst and his family raised a glass of milk last week to toast the start of a new addition to their farming operation at Makihihi, south of Timaru.
Testing confirms H5 bird flu in a single northern giant petrel, found dead on a remote Cape Palliser beach in the Wairarapa, says Dr Mary van Andel, the Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI) Chief Veterinary Officer.
"What's for dinner?" may sound like a simple question, but for many Kiwi parents, answering it has become a job in itself.
Fifty Eight years ago, on the 16th of August 1968, August Claas, the founder of the harvesting company and father of Helmut Claas, personally presented a Claas Senator combine harvester to Scottish farmer John Steven.
New Zealand consumers are paying more for beef mince than ever before, with the average retail price now sitting above $24 per kilogram, according to Rabobank.
State farmer Pamu has delivered its strongest operating result on record.
Four years since it was first detected in New Zealand, researchers and growers now know much more about management of maize pest fall armyworm (FAW).
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