Another Windfall for Fonterra Farmers, Unit Holders
Fonterra farmer shareholders and unit holders are in line for another payment in April.
Fonterra will invest $27 million in a dry store distribution centre at its Te Rapa site.
Fonterra's director logistics network, Mark Leslie, says the dry store will provide annual benefits of nearly $5m through reduced operating costs.
"Our seasonal production means that we store product until we receive orders," says Leslie.
"The new dry store will enable us to store product at the site of manufacture right through the peak of the season and to more efficiently manage the flow of goods through to our customers by better utilising the rail infrastructure out of our Crawford St distribution centre."
Fonterra's base storage-capacity in the Waikato for Te Rapa product is currently only 60% of the total requirement.
The new dry store will more than double storage capacity at Te Rapa allowing all production to be stored in the Waikato before flowing direct to port for export.
The dry store is Fonterra's third recent investment in the Waikato including a new UHT milk processing site at Waitoa and the expansion of its Te Rapa cream cheese plant in response to increasing demand for dairy nutrition in Asia.
The Te Rapa dry store investment also follows the recent Whareroa dry store announcement.
Controls on the movement of fruit and vegetables in the Auckland suburb of Mt Roskill have been lifted.
Fonterra farmer shareholders and unit holders are in line for another payment in April.
Farmers are being encouraged to take a closer look at the refrigerants running inside their on-farm systems, as international and domestic pressure continues to build on high global warming potential (GWP) 400-series refrigerants.
As expected, Fonterra has lifted its 2025-26 forecast farmgate milk price mid-point to $9.50/kgMS.
Bovonic says a return on investment study has found its automated mastitis detection technology, QuadSense, is delivering financial, labour, and animal-health benefits on New Zealand dairy farms worth an estimated $29,547 per season.
Pāmu has welcomed ten new apprentices into its 2026 intake, marking the second year of a scheme designed to equip the next generation of farmers with the skills, knowledge, and experience needed for a thriving career in agriculture.