Lactalis in front to acquire Fonterra’s Australian dairy assets after ACCC clearance
The world's largest dairy company may be in pole position to acquire Fonterra's Australian assets.
The $8.40/kgMS payout was probably the worst thing that happened to the dairy industry, says family corporate farmer Trevor Hamilton.
He says in the present era of market volatility and low payouts, farmers need to go and check the balance sheet and really delve into their cost structure.
Hamilton, who has farms in the North and South Islands, says farmers need to get costs down to about $3.50/kgMS.
"My personal view is that if you average the Fonterra milk price over the last ten years it's about $6.00. So medium term if you have a sound business at about $6.00 you are probably ok. But if you haven't, you could well do with an assessment of your business."
Hamilton says dairy companies such as Tatua and Westland Milk Products, with a higher percentage of value add products, are more shielded from the volatility of the commodity market. He says while Fonterra does have some value add products, it's a very small percentage of their business. But he says it's hard to blame Fonterra for this given that they have to take all the milk produced in NZ.
Two butcheries have claimed victory at the 100% New Zealand Bacon & Ham Awards for 2025.
A Taupiri farming company has been convicted and fined $52,500 in the Hamilton District Court for the unlawful discharge of dairy effluent into the environment.
The Climate Change Commission’s 2025 emissions reduction monitoring report reveals steady progress on the reduction of New Zealand’s climate pollution.
Another milestone has been reached in the fight against Mycoplasma bovis with the compensation assistance service being wound up after helping more than 1300 farmers.
The Government’s directive for state farmer Landcorp Farming (trading as Pamu) to lifts its performance is yielding results.
The move to bring bovine TB testing in-house at Ospri officially started this month, as a team of 37 skilled and experienced technicians begin work with the disease eradication agency.
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