Keeping cyber attacks at bay
Fonterra says it takes the ongoing threat of 'adverse cyber action' extremely seriously.
Fonterra’s rural service subsidiary, Farm Source says farmer shareholders are adapting well to its new trading model under COVID-19 restrictions.
Thanks to COVID-19, Farm Source has closed all its stores: orders are placed online or over the phone.
Farmers can either collect their purchases outside the store or are dropped off at “zero-contact” collection point on-farm.
Farm Source head Richard Allen says the service has been well adopted by farmers across the country.
“Sales traffic was high in the first few days, which was not unexpected. Traffic has now reduced to more normal levels and aligned to more seasonal patterns.”
“Our phone-based service centre and online sales channel have come into their own: staff and farmers have adopted and respected this way of operating in a short period of time.”
Allen, who also looks after milk collection, says the co-op isn’t experiencing disruption or significant drop in production at this stage.
“Agriculture essential and prioritised in the lock-down for business continuity: farmers continuing to work hard on-farm and we are continuing to collect and process their milk.”
Recent rain has offered respite for some from the ongoing drought.
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.
For Wonky Box co-founder Angus Simms, the decision to open the service to those in rural areas is a personal one.
The golden age of orcharding in West Auckland was recently celebrated at the launch of a book which tells the story of its rise, then retreat in the face of industry change and urban expansion.
OPINION: Should Greenpeace be stripped of their charitable status? Farmers say yes.
OPINION: After years of financial turmoil, Canterbury milk processor Synlait is now back in business.