Thursday, 13 September 2018 11:54

Farmers stay quiet on Fonterra

Written by 
 Theo Spierings' remuneration and pay package has come under fire. Theo Spierings' remuneration and pay package has come under fire.

Farmers are keeping a low profile online following Fonterra’s shocking $196m loss.

The loss was the first in the co-op’s 17-year history. Read more about the grim 2018 annual results here.

Dairy farmers are remaining surprisingly quiet online about the results, whilst those from town seem more interested on Twitter and Facebook in Spierings' remuneration and pay package.

The interest in Spierings' pay follows widespread reporting from mainstream media outlets who were quick to post headline stories.

With a large proportion of tweets about Fonterra this morning being from non-farmers, most of which questioning Spierings' pay, a rural reporter from Stuff questioned whether farmers were "stewing in silence".

 

 

 

 

One dairy farmer, however, was concerned for Fonterra's wellbeing.

A musician mocked the result.

Fonterra’s recently-appointed interim chief executive Miles Hurrell has said that the co-op needs to be clear, upfront and honest with farmer shareholders.

It appeared a Stuff reporter had missed the memo when he tweeted encouragement to Fonterra to have more transparency and questioned where Spierings was.

Fonterra's Twitter was quick to reflect Hurrell's statements in a reply.

National's agriculture spokesman, Nathan Guy wants a going-forward plan from Fonterra.

Rural News Group understands this is a tough time for many Fonterra farmers. Support is available for those who need it.

Check out DairyNZ's Wellbeing resources which offer tips to staying in a healthy and balanced place, as well as emergency contacts: dairynz.co.nz/people/wellbeing

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