Editorial: Punching Above Our Weight
OPINION: With 10,500 dairy farms, New Zealand continues to punch above its weight around the world.
Fonterra’s board is backing Zespri chairman Peter McBride, and Maori agribusiness leader Jamie Tuuta in the 2018 board elections.
Sitting director Ashley Waugh has also won nomination from the Fonterra board after being recommended by the independent selection panel.
This means two sitting directors- former chairman John Wilson and Nicola Shadbolt- will leave the board after the annual general meeting in Waikato on November 8.
Returning Officer Warwick Lampp announced the three nominations this morning.
He says the three candidates were nominated by the Fonterra board after being recommended by the independent selection panel.
The Fonterra Shareholders Council is also supporting the three candidates.
The directors’ election process includes two nomination options: the independent nomination process and the self-nomination process.
The self-nomination process, where farmers can stand as a candidate for the board with the support of 35 different shareholders, is now open. Nominations close on Thursday, 20 September 2018.
The full list of candidates for the Fonterra board elections will be announced on September 24.
Voting Packs, containing candidate profiles, will be mailed to eligible shareholders on Monday, 15 October 2018. Shareholders can vote by internet or post, using the first past the post, majority system. Voting closes at 10.30am on Tuesday, 6 November 2018 with the results being announced later that day.
McBride, who became Zespri chairman in 2013, has invested in the kiwifruit and dairy industries.
Tuuta was appointed Moari TV chairman in May this year. He was previously chair of the Parininihi ki Waitōtara Incorporation, the largest farmer in Taranaki and one of the largest milk suppliers to Fonterra.
Signing up to a benchmarking tool is not about competition, but about improving collectively, says Ximena Puig and Alvaro Luzardo who are 50-50 sharemilkers at a 164-hectare (effective) dairy farm in Eketāhuna in the Lower North Island.
A leading British farming politician says he's impressed with the positive attitude of New Zealand farmers that he met during his recent trip here.
OPINION: With 10,500 dairy farms, New Zealand continues to punch above its weight around the world.
The Southern Dairy Hub (SDH), which runs a demonstration farm for South Island farmers, has a new general manager.
Esther Guy-Meakin has been announced as the new chief executive of the New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB).
According to a progress report on the Aotearoa Horticulture Action Plan (AHAP), New Zealand's horticulture sector is making real progress on the big issues facing growers.
OPINION: The Irish dairy sector is facing a new dilemma - maintaining year-round fresh milk supplies.
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