"Our" business?
OPINION: One particular bone the Hound has been gnawing on for years now is how the chattering classes want it both ways when it comes to the success of NZ's dairy industry.
Fonterra will invest more than $100 million in a new UHT milk processing plant at its Waitoa site in the Waikato.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings says the new plant would enable the cooperative to meet growing demand for UHT products in Asia.
"The new plant will enable us to increase our UHT production by 100% over the next few years," Spierings says. "The plant will include five new UHT lines that will produce a range of products including UHT white milk and UHT cream for the foodservice sector.
"Products from the new plant will be bound for Asia markets and that will allow us to concentrate all our domestic UHT production – including Fonterra Milk for Schools – at Takanini in Auckland."
Spierings says together with the construction opportunities and the creation of an additional 50 jobs, the development would provide new opportunities for Fonterra farmers in the North Island.
"Milk supply in New Zealand is seasonal because it follows the grass growth curve. However UHT production requires year round milk supply so we will be talking to our farmers about the opportunity for more of them to take up winter milk contracts. This will enable them to take advantage of the milk price premium that these contracts include.
"A recent survey of our farmers indicated that a good proportion of them in the Upper North Island would be keen to take up winter milk contracts," Spierings says.
Phoebe Scherer, a technical manager from the Bay of Plenty, has won the 2025 Young Grower of the Year national title.
The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.
Award-winning boutique cheese company, Cranky Goat Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.
A tiny organism from the arid mountains of mainland Greece is facilitating a new way of growing healthier animals on farms across New Zealand.
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