increase font size
Fonterra managing director corporate affairs Mike Cronin.
Fonterra says a campaign where its shareholder farmers tell their success stories has helped boost its standing among New Zealanders.
In April last year, only 16% of New Zealanders surveyed had a favourable view of the co-op; 35% had an unfavourable view.
By December, the co-op had turned this around; 29% viewed the co-op favourably and 16% unfavourably.
Fonterra managing director corporate affairs Mike Cronin told the NZ Cooperative leaders’ forum in Auckland last week that the each percentage represented about 40,000 people.
“So 1.2 million people think positive of us now,” he says.
Cronin says while the co-op is pleased with change in public perception, more work needs to be done.
The co-op used former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw in the ‘4.31am advertising campaign’. Fronted by McCaw the ads focus on five topics that farmers want the wider public to better understand.
Cronin says Fonterra farmers want more New Zealanders to know their story.
“They want New Zealanders to be as proud of the co-op as they are.”
Cronin says Fonterra has spent the past three years building better foundations through its community projects – like Milk for Schools and environment initiatives and partnerships.
“Our reputation in New Zealand was unsustainably low and we know we need New Zealanders support to operate.
“We are not understood by New Zealanders; building reputation builds farmer and staff pride and productivity.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
OPINION: Farmer shareholders of two of New Zealand's largest co-operatives have an important decision to make this month and what they decide could change the landscape of the dairy and meat sectors in New Zealand.
OPINION: As CEO of the Dairy Board in the 1980s I was fortunate to work with a team of experienced and capable executives who made most of the brand investments that created the international consumer business Fonterra inherited. Soprole in Chile was the largest, but there were more than 20 countries where consumer marketing companies were established and Anchor and other brands were successfully launched.
Fonterra has delivered a fifth straight year of record organic milk price for farmer suppliers.
Fonterra says favourable weather conditions supporting pasture growth is boosting milk production.
Like many manufacturers around the world, European agricultural machinery and tractor manufacturers are currently operating in a difficult market environment. But they are heading to the world’s largest agricultural machinery event in Hanover next month with a degree of cautious optimism.
Established in 2021, the John Deere Technician of the Year Awards champion the important contribution parts and service technicians make to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture, construction and forestry industries.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
OPINION: Dairy industry players are also falling by the wayside as the economic downturn bites around the country.
OPINION: Methane Science Accord, a farmer-led organisation advocating for zero tax on ruminant methane, will be quietly celebrating its first…
