Farmers' call
OPINION: Fonterra's $4.22 billion consumer business sale to Lactalis is ruffling a few feathers outside the dairy industry.
Prime Minister John Key has opened Fonterra's new $200 million Darfield site in Christchurch.
He paid tribute to Fonterra's contribution to the New Zealand economy and our reputation worldwide.
Key says Fonterra is New Zealand's only "truly global champion".
"The Fonterra brand and name is known around the corporate world," he says.
The new factory processes around 2.4 million litres of milk in a single day. A second plant is under construction and it will triple Darfield's capacity.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says Fonterra's Darfield site represents a great achievement for the operations teams that had overseen its construction and successfully commissioned the plant just as the new season got underway.
"This is a tribute to the hard work of more than 1500 people who have built a world-class dairy processing site – from paddock to powder – in just 18 months," Spierings says.
"Since August, when the first bags of whole milk powder rolled off the production line, more than 30,000 metric tonnes of high quality product have been produced, destined for customers in China, South East Asia and the Middle East. That's enough to fill about 1300 20-foot containers.
"This new site is already playing an important part in delivering on our business strategy. It is one of our most efficient plants, with the capacity and flexibility that will help drive further performance improvements and a better payout for our farmers."
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
Environment Southland's catchment improvement funding is once again available for innovative landowners in need of a boost to get their project going.
The team meeting at the Culverden Hotel was relaxed and open, despite being in the middle of calving when stress levels are at peak levels, especially in bitterly cold and wet conditions like today.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
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Driven by a lifelong passion for animals, Amy Toughey's journey from juggling three jobs with full-time study to working on cutting-edge dairy research trials shows what happens when hard work meets opportunity - and she's only just getting started.