Ah Tatua, You've Done It Again!
Waikato milk processor Tatua has again declared a record milk payout to farmer shareholders, leaving other processors in the dust.
Nominations for the Fonterra Board of Directors’ election open today with an election to be held for two farmer-elected directors.
This year, Andy Macfarlane and Donna Smit retire by rotation.
Macfarlane has confirmed he will stand for re-election and Smit announced last month she would be retiring from the Board.
The Independent Assessment Process will be run first with a nomination period of 5-19 August 2022.
The Independently Assessed candidates will be assessed by an Independent Selection Panel made up of Tony Carter (chair of My Food Bag, TR Group and Datacom Group), Joan Withers (chair of The Warehouse Group) and Rob Campbell (Chair of Health NZ, Environment Protection Authority and NZ Rural Land).
The selection panel’s role is to shortlist and recommend the best candidates to shareholders.
The returning officer will announce the Independent Assessment Process candidates on 19 September 2022.
The Non-Assessment Process, where farmers can put themselves forward as a candidate for the Board outside the Independent Assessment Process, will follow with the nomination period running from 19 - 29 September 2022.
The returning officer will confirm all directors’ election candidates on Friday, 30 September 2022.
The director election will be held using the first past the post system via postal and online voting by Fonterra shareholders.
When Northland leather worker Vernon Suckling started making horse saddles 50 years ago, quad bikes and side-by-side vehicles were unheard of.
Alliance Group has confirmed that eligible farmer-shareholders who supply and continue to back the business will receive up to $20 million later this year, following the strategic investment partnership with Dawn Meats.
With a general election under five weeks away, Rural News is asking major political parties about their policies and positions on key issues facing the primary sector. We will run their responses to each question over the next four weeks. The ACT Party and the Greens didn't respond in time.
The red meat sector is in great heart.
Dr Scott Champion, Foundation for Arable Research chief executive, says that everyone in the supply chain had a role to play in driving the sector's long-term success.
Entries opened on Monday, 5 October 2026 for the 2027 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA), which organisers describe as the nation's biggest celebration of excellence in the dairy sector.

OPINION: The same mainstream media muppets that brought you Jacindamania in 2017 have been flat out pimping for the Opportunities…
OPINION: Your old mate reckons the atrocious way farmers in the UK are treated by their lords and masters in…