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Theo Spierings.
Fonterra says it remains committed to its social commitments despite the recent slump in dairy prices.
Addressing Fonterra’s annual meeting in Canterbury this month, chief executive Theo Spierings noted that the co-op did not cut corners or go back on its commitments.
He pointed out that Fonterra keeps on with Milk for Schools, the Living Water programme and dairy development worldwide.
“Once you start cutting corners… you lose trust; we have not cut a penny from those programmes,” Spierings told farmers. “We coped with changes, but we kept on investing in communities.”
Milk for Schools reaches 70% of New Zealand primary schools; 140,000 primary students drink Anchor milk daily.
Living Water is a partnership between Fonterra and the Department of Conservation, working to improve biodiversity and water quality across NZ; the work continues in five sensitive catchments.
The co-op’s dairy development programme helps the growth of sustainable dairy industries in key markets around the world, helping farmers to produce more milk, profitably and safely.
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A four year trial has reaffirmed that mixing plantain into dairy pastures can help reduce nitrogen losses to freshwater while maintaining milk production and profitability, say researchers.
Fonterra has opened its upgraded Chengdu Application Centre, bringing New Zealand dairy expertise closer to customers in one of China's fastest-growing regions.
Tatua chair Stephen Allen says he leaves the co-op with a deep sense of gratitude for the people who have contributed to its success.
Federated Farmers president Colin Hurst and his family raised a glass of milk last week to toast the start of a new addition to their farming operation at Makihihi, south of Timaru.
Testing confirms H5 bird flu in a single northern giant petrel, found dead on a remote Cape Palliser beach in the Wairarapa, says Dr Mary van Andel, the Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI) Chief Veterinary Officer.
"What's for dinner?" may sound like a simple question, but for many Kiwi parents, answering it has become a job in itself.
Fifty Eight years ago, on the 16th of August 1968, August Claas, the founder of the harvesting company and father of Helmut Claas, personally presented a Claas Senator combine harvester to Scottish farmer John Steven.
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