Ruralco slumps to second straight loss
Farmer co-operative Ruralco has slumped to its second straight financial loss.
Former parliament Speaker David Carter has lost his bid for a directorship of the South Island rural service company Ruralco.
At the cooperative’s annual meeting last week, shareholders re-elected sitting directors Jessie Chan-Dorman and Tony Coltman.
Both retired by rotation and offered themselves for re-election. Carter was the third candidate.
Chan-Dorman says she is humbled to be part of the Ruralco team. She echoed a shareholder’s call that the co-op was one team working together for its farmers.
And she acknowledged the challenges and opportunities ahead for farming, saying Ruralco will support farmers as they make the transition.
Coltman, who joined the board in 2016, says he was honoured to be re-elected.
“It was great to see such high participation rates and to see the seats contested. This is a healthy position for the board.”
Coltman says he is acutely aware of the need to keep the business and its people in a strong position and help it to evolve in a competitive market.
Shareholders voted online for directors for the first time and chairman Alistair Body said the voting went well.
“Most of the votes were cast prior to the AGM and in spite of this we still had a good attendance and participation at the meeting.” Shareholder participation rates were five times higher than last year.
At the meeting Body congratulated the board and management on their enabling the cooperative to remain competitive. He said Ruralco’s management and board agree on the business model and its future.
The co-op had “positive financial results and many accolades to its name despite a difficult trading year, with the weather effecting irrigation and grain trading, and uncertainty and farmers’ conservativism affecting their spending.”
The 2025 game bird season is underway with Hawke’s Bay and Southland reporting the ideal weather conditions for hunters – rain and wind.
A group of meat processing companies, directors and managers have been fined a total of $1.6 million for deliberately and illegally altering exported tallow for profit.
New Zealand’s top cheeses for 2025 have been announced and family-owned, Oamaru-based Whitestone Cheese is the big winner.
Waikato farmer, and Owl Farm demonstration manager, Jo Sheridan is the 2025 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
New Zealand’s special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr believes the outlook for the dairy sector remains strong.
Everyone from experienced veterinarians and young professionals to the Wormwise programme and outstanding clinics have been recognised in this year’s New Zealand Veterinary Association Te Pae Kīrehe (NZVA) awards.
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