Fonterra trims board size
Fonterra’s board has been reduced to nine - comprising six farmer-elected and three appointed directors.
The dairy industry is much improved compared with what it was 18 months ago, according to accountant Pita Alexander.
He says Fonterra has made some major changes which he thinks are going to be productive, but he says the future of the NZ dairy sector is all about China.
"That is imponderable; you can't guess what's going to happen. China has been good for us, and you could argue we should have diversified more, but their prices were so much higher than the others that you would be a fool not to take," he says.
Looking to the 2024/25 season, Alexander believes farmers need a payout of at least $8.40/kgMS. He says a lot of people will survive on less but believes a typical payout should be $8.40.
Finally, Alexander has some special advice for dairy farmers: above all, get your kids well educated because not all will come home to the farm. He says education has never been so important and there is nothing wrong with the $40,000 student loan which can be paid back over time.
His other piece of key advice is to attend seminars, conferences and field days where farmers can pick up invaluable knowledge to help them through a crisis.
More than 200 people turned out on Thursday, November 21 to see what progress has been made on one of NZ's biggest and most comprehensive agriculture research programmes on regenerative agriculture.
The a2 Milk Company (a2MC) says securing more China label registrations and developing its own nutritional manufacturing capability are high on its agenda.
Stellar speakers, top-notch trade sites, innovation, technology and connections are all on offer at the 2025 East Coast Farming Expo being once again hosted in Wairoa in February.
As a guest of the Italian Trade Association, Rural News Group Machinery Editor Mark Daniel took the opportunity to make an early November dash to Bologna to the 46th EIMA exhibition.
Livestock can be bred for lower methane emissions while also improving productivity at a rate greater than what the industry is currently achieving, research has shown.
The horticulture sector is a big winner from recent free trade deals sealed with the Gulf states, says Associate Agriculture Minister Nicola Grigg.
OPINION: Fonterra may have sold its dairy farms in China but the appetite for collaboration with the country remains strong.
OPINION: The Listener's latest piece on winter grazing among Southland dairy farmers leaves much to be desired.