Strong field for LIC board elections
Herd improvement company LIC's director elections have attracted a high calibre of candidates.
The new chairman of Fonterra Shareholders Council, Duncan Coull, says the cooperative spirit will help farmers through the downturn.
Coull says New Zealand farmers pride themselves in weathering the vagaries of commodity prices.
“I know some farmers are feeling very fragile; this is the time to knuckle down and come together as a co-op and work together,” he told Dairy News.
The Otorohanga farmer, who milks 700 cows on two farms with contract milkers, believes the next 12 months will be hard. “It will be a battle of resilience but we need to come out on top.”
Coull was elected unopposed, succeeding Ian Brown, who decided not to stand for re-election after three years in the role. Coull, who represents Fonterra farmers in Otorohanga, was the council deputy chair for the past 12 months.
“It’s a privilege to be elected to lead the council and I thank councilors for their support. I’m aware of my responsibility to councilors and all Fonterra farmers and I’m committed to ensuring their views are represented and their interests are protected through effective monitoring and strong representation.”
He paid tribute to Brown for “a tremendous amount of time, energy and unwavering commitment to the role to the betterment of all our farmers”.
“Ian is one of the council’s strongest advocates and I will strive to build on what he has started. Ian will continue in his council role and represent farmers in South Waikato for the duration of his three-year term.”
Coull says the council must keep acting to earn the respect of Fonterra farmers.
“With the volatility we face in our industry it’s important that farmers understand they have a representative body within Fonterra which, backed by the constitution, works to ensure their views are heard and to protect their interests as owners of the co-op.
“I’m committed to continuing our strong working relationship with the board; honest dialogue at this level enables us to function most effectively as farmer representatives.”
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.