Lactalis in front to acquire Fonterra’s Australian dairy assets after ACCC clearance
The world's largest dairy company may be in pole position to acquire Fonterra's Australian assets.
Fonterra farmers want a smaller board, says co-op chairman John Wilson.
Wilson says that's the message he got from taking part in farmer meetings around the country during the director election campaign.
He says Fonterra board and Shareholders Council will soon embark on a major consultation process with shareholders
"We will have a discussion on the capability of the board and the mix between elected and appointed directors," says Wilson.
He says a lot of ground work has been done over the past three years.
The review committee will be made up of board and council members; outside consultants may be engaged as part of the review.
A discussion document will be released January; a special shareholders meeting will be called around June next year.
The Colin Armer/Greg Gent proposal to reduce the board to nine members was supported by 53.8% of farmers. However, the proposal needed 75% support to enable changes to the co-op constitution.
About 65% of shareholders, producing 73% of the co-op's total milk solids, turned out to vote
There's been widespread support from the primary sector for the Government's move to put the brakes on local authorities to do any more work on planning changes ahead of major changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA).
Rural health advocates say the Government's decision to establish a new medical school at the University of Waikato augurs well for the rural sector.
People affected by the recent two severe flood events in the Tasman district are weary and exhausted trying to deal with the devastation on their farms and orchards, according to the head of the Rural Support Trust (RST) in the region.
New Zealand milk production is off to a strong start, with the first month of the 2025/26 dairy season recording a whopping 17.8% jump in milk production, compared to the previous season.
With adverse weather set to rain down on the Top of the South, the Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says farmers, foresters, and growers need to prepare for possible challenges.
Keep up with innovation and e-commerce in China or risk losing market share. That was the message delivered at the China Business Summit in Auckland this month.
OPINION: Will synthetic milk derail NZ's economy?
OPINION: According to media reports, the eye-watering price of butter has prompted Finance Minister Nicola Willis to ask for a…