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Fonterra' s vote on Trading Among Farmers means more safeguards are needed in the proposed legislation to protect farmer control and ownership, Labour's Primary Industries spokesperson Damien O'Connor says.
"When the law changes voted on by farmers today first came in front of Parliament, we (Labour) said protections need to be locked into law because putting them into Fonterra's constitution is not enough," O'Connor says.
"Our fears have been realised with constitutional amendments to lock in farmer ownership only receiving 72.8% of the vote. Changing the constitution requires a 75% vote so they haven't been adopted.
"The result is that farmers have voted for trading among farmers, but even though there were more votes for the protection measures they haven't passed.
"If trading among farmers goes ahead without Labour's proposed amendment, control of Fonterra and its profits could pass to non-farmers and potentially out of New Zealand," O'Connor says.
Research lending to the production of dairy products that benefit the elderly and improves the overall wellbeing of all people is a key focus of Fonterra's Research and Development centre, based in Palmerston North.
Milk processors are either matching or beating Fonterra's record $10/kgMS opening forecast milk price as the 2025-26 season gets underway.
Fonterra has announced a record forecast opening organic milk price of $12.30/kgMS for the new season.
Australian dairy farmers supplying Fonterra are getting an opening weighted average milk price of A$8.60/kgMS for the new season or around NZ$9.26/kgMS - NZ74c less than New Zealand suppliers, based on the current exchange rate.
A record $10/kgMS opening forecast milk price for the new season means more money into Fonterra farmers pockets early, says Federated Farmers dairy chair Richard McIntyre.
A report released this morning at the National Fieldays, Mystery Creek shows dairy farmer confidence growing, but challenges remain.
Supporting farmers to build great workplaces is a focus for DairyNZ, which is why they say they have relaunched the self-assessment tool, Workplace 360.
Around 97% of New Zealand pet owners value the care provided by their vet teams, but the broader contribution of animal health professionals to society often goes unseen, a new study has revealed.
More Australian states are embracing virtual fencing technology, opening growth opportunities for Kiwi companies like Halter.
Dairy farmers are set to benefit from the radical sweeping changes the Government is planning to make to the regulations that form part of the Resource Management Act (RMA).
The reported surge in interest in dairy conversions should be put into the context of falling overall cow numbers and improving environmental performance, says DairyNZ.
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