What Would Synlait Be Worth to Fonterra or a2 Milk?
Speculation of a possible joint move by Fonterra and a2 Milk to buy Synlait raises a much bigger strategic question, says agribusiness expert Dr Nic Lees.
The Hound would love to be a fly on the wall at the next Fonterra board meeting, when re-elected director Leonie Guiney returns to the dairy co-op’s the top table.
Your old mate hears that the self-nominated Guiney was the top-polling candidate at this year’s director elections.
This must have been a double whammy to Fonterra’s network of old-boys who not only engineered Guiney’s departure from the board last year via their Stalinist ‘board candidate nominee process’ but also watched as two of their ‘nominees’ failed to get elected last month.
One can only guess there will be some very uncomfortable people with red faces when they welcome the South Canterbury farmer back to Gumboot Castle in Auckland. Awkward, as they say.
Ballance Agrinutrients chief executive Kelvin Wickham says despite a tough year, he is pleased the business has returned to profit.
When Northland farmer Mark Cameron entered parliament six years ago, the Beehive was a lonely place.
Speculation of a possible joint move by Fonterra and a2 Milk to buy Synlait raises a much bigger strategic question, says agribusiness expert Dr Nic Lees.
I think it's going to greatly weaken National at the election. That's the view of a former senior National MP on the recent attempted coup against Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
Despite political shenanigans in Wellington, farmers are confident that Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms will get over the line in this term of Parliament.
New Zealand's pest problem has reached crisis point, according to Federated Farmers' second National Pests Survey, which shows farmers are spending more money and effort on control — yet pest numbers keep climbing faster than they were two years ago.