Farmlands Co-operative Appoints Rachel Aldikacti as Chief Sales Officer
Farmlands Co-operative has announced Rachel Aldikacti will be its new chief sales officer.
Two farmer-owned rural traders are looking at merging their operations.
Farmlands Trading Society and Combined Rural Traders (CRT) have begun investigating a potential merger between the two cooperatives.
In a joint statement, the two co-ops said they have appointed external professional advisers to assist with their investigations. Shareholders will be given an update in mid-October.
"Any proposals would be subject to full consultation and a vote from all our cooperative members," the statement says.
It says given both cooperatives operate in the same sector but different markets, the possibility of a merger has been speculated by market commentators for a number of years
"The boards of each company will undertake a thorough evaluation process, which may take some time, before making any formal recommendations to shareholders. A final decision will be up to shareholders in both cooperatives to whom full information will be provided in addition to shareholder consultation meetings."
CRT operates 31 stores in the South Island. Farmlands operates 45 stores in the North Island.
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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