Fonterra Elections 2026: Voting Opens Tuesday 20 October
Fonterra shareholders can begin voting on Tuesday 20 October in the 2026 Board of Directors’ election, a Co-operative Council election in one Ward, and seven Annual Meeting resolutions.
Fonterra has delivered a fifth straight year of record organic milk price for farmer suppliers.
Last week, the co-op confirmed a final organic milk price of $12.35/kgMS for the 2024-25 season, which ended May 31 this year. Fonterra’s highest organic milk price to date was in 2023-24 which set a record of $10.92/kgMS.
Anne Douglas, group director Farm Source, says this marks a fifth straight year of organic milk price increases, reflecting an incredibly positive demand story for the high-quality milk our farmers supply every day.
“Organic dairy sales have experienced strong growth, particularly in the US. Additional tariffs on imports into the US did present us with challenges in FY25, however, these were largely able to be passed through to our customers due to the firm demand,” Douglas told Dairy News.
“Favourable market conditions saw our FY25 organic sales increase 27% year on year, while the co-op’s organic milk collections were also up 7.5% to 9.7 million kgMS.”
The co-op’s organics business has been running since 2002 and continues to grow in supply, product range and value.
Over the last 4-5 years, the programme has more than doubled in size and currently includes more than 100 farms.
Today, the business is in a strong position, says Fonterra, as it makes the most of market conditions, including growing consumer demand as well as supply constraints globally.
Organic farmers earn a premium, and there’s also a benefit to all Fonterra farmers because around 20% of the programme’s revenue goes back to the co-op as a contribution to shared overheads and earnings.
As part of its Election 2026 coverage, Rural News asked political parties how they would help pull the arable sector out of the doldrums. Here's what they said:
Farmers are being encouraged to rethink how they manage waste on farm with the launch of ruralwastesorted.co.nz, a new website bringing together practical tips, real farmer experiences and resources.
New Zealand Winegrowers (NZW) is celebrating the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) coming into force today, bringing New Zealand wine improved access to one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
New Zealand’s red meat sector has welcomed the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement taking effect, which removes India’s 33% tariff on New Zealand sheepmeat.
More than 95 per cent of New Zealand’s forestry and wood exports to India can now enter tariff free as the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement comes into force today.
Federated Farmers is backing Feilding High School’s call to keep Agriculture and Horticultural Science as a standalone subject in Year 11.
OPINION: It seems Canterbury processor Synlait is still in the doldrums.
OPINION: Get offside with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters at your own peril.