Make the right decision, Peters urges Fonterra farmers
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Minister Winston Peters is ratcheting up pressure on Fonterra farmers as they vote on divesting the co-operative’s consumer and related businesses.
Three sitting Fonterra directors - chairman Peter McBride, Leonie Guiney and John Nicholls - have been re-elected to the board for another three-year term.
The three directors were the only candidates for board elections this year: however new election rules mean a candidate must get over 50% of the votes cast to be elected.
Fonterra Co-operative Council chairman James Barron announced that shareholders had voted to re-elect the three sitting directors.
Elections were also held in three council wards.
In Ward 10 (Northern Bay of Plenty) Don Hammond was re-elected.
In Ward 13 (Central Taranaki) Karyn Johnson and in Ward 19 (Tasman / Marlborough) Simon Tripe defeated their opponents to get elected to the council for the first time.
In the seven other Co-operative Council wards where elections were due, nominees were elected unopposed.
They are: Ward 1 (Northern Northland) Peter Giesbers, Ward 2(Central Northland) Greg Collins, Ward 7 (Waipa) Mike Montgomerie, Ward 16 (Central Districts West) Megan Cushnahan, Ward 21 (Central Canterbury) Mark Slee, Ward 22 (South Canterbury) Mark Cressey and Ward 25 (Western Southland) Kevin Dixon.
Giesbers, Collins, Cushnahan, Cressey and Dixon are new councillors.
Dignitaries from all walks of life – the governor general, politicians past and present, Maoridom- including the Maori Queen, church leaders, the primary sector and family and friends packed Our Lady of Kapiti’s Catholic church in Paraparaumu on Thursday October 23 to pay tribute to former prime Minister, Jim Bolger who died last week.
Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Todd McClay is encouraging farmers, growers, and foresters not to take unnecessary risks, asking that they heed weather warnings today.
With nearly two million underutilised dairy calves born annually and the beef price outlook strong, New Zealand’s opportunity to build a scalable dairy-beef system is now.
Graduates of a newly-updated Agri-Women’s Development Trust (AWDT) course are taking more value than ever from the programme, with some even walking away calling themselves the “farm CFO”.
Meet the Need, a farmer-led charity, says food insecurity in New Zealand is dire, with one in four children now living in a household experiencing food insecurity, according to Ministry of Health data.
Applications have now opened for the 2026 Meat Industry Association scholarships.
OPINION: Voting is underway for Fonterra’s divestment proposal, with shareholders deciding whether or not sell its consumer brands business.
OPINION: Politicians and Wellington bureaucrats should take a leaf out of the book of Canterbury District Police Commander Superintendent Tony Hill.