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FONTERRA CHAIRMAN Henry van der Heyden is to get a 27% pay rise.
The co-op shareholders passed a resolution, at last week's annual meeting, boosting his salary from the current $315,000 to $400,000.
Shareholders also agreed to increase Fonterra director fees by 14% to $160,000. They will also receive allowance for board committee membership.
Fonterra director remuneration committee chairman Rodney Wilson says market expectations and trends for director fees – both here and overseas – were taken into account when setting the new fees.
"The committee believes it is important to set realistic fee levels, having particular regard to the broader market to ensure skilled directors are attracted and retained on the board," he told the meeting.
Wilson says the committee also looked at market trends and believes Fonterra director fees are "modest" in comparison to other New Zealand companies.
The committee also increased the fees of Fonterra Shareholders Council chairman Simon Couper by 12.5% to $90,000. The council's deputy chair will now get $55,000 – an increase of 25%, while councillors' fees remain unchanged at $25,000.
Fonterra shareholders also approved a new budget for the council. Independent director John Waller was re-elected for another term.
Research lending to the production of dairy products that benefit the elderly and improves the overall wellbeing of all people is a key focus of Fonterra's Research and Development centre, based in Palmerston North.
Milk processors are either matching or beating Fonterra's record $10/kgMS opening forecast milk price as the 2025-26 season gets underway.
Fonterra has announced a record forecast opening organic milk price of $12.30/kgMS for the new season.
Australian dairy farmers supplying Fonterra are getting an opening weighted average milk price of A$8.60/kgMS for the new season or around NZ$9.26/kgMS - NZ74c less than New Zealand suppliers, based on the current exchange rate.
A record $10/kgMS opening forecast milk price for the new season means more money into Fonterra farmers pockets early, says Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre.
Maize and sweetcorn pest fall armyworm has defied initial assessments regarding its ability to survive over winter in some parts of New Zealand.
A report released this morning at the National Fieldays, Mystery Creek shows dairy farmer confidence growing, but challenges remain.
Supporting farmers to build great workplaces is a focus for DairyNZ, which is why they say they have relaunched the self-assessment tool, Workplace 360.
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