Farmers' call
OPINION: Fonterra's $4.22 billion consumer business sale to Lactalis is ruffling a few feathers outside the dairy industry.
OPINION: This old mutt reckons that Fonterra must be learning its PR tricks from the Government.
Since time immemorial, governments who want to bury bad news, release it late on the eve of a holiday or long weekend.
So, accordingly, Fonterra announced that it had finally sold its disastrous investment in its China Farms with a media release sent out at 4.26pm on Easter Thursday eve - when most news organisations around the country had already broken up for the Easter Weekend.
And the spinning didn't stop there.
Despite everyone knowing the dairy co-op's 'investment' in its Chinese farms have been a complete financial and practical cluster, chief executive Miles Hurrell uttered this bull manure: "Fonterra has contributed to the development of the Chinese dairy industry by establishing these farms and we're pleased to now hand ownership over to Youran for the next phase of development".
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.
OPINION: The phasing out of copper network from communications is understandable.
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.