"Our" business?
OPINION: One particular bone the Hound has been gnawing on for years now is how the chattering classes want it both ways when it comes to the success of NZ's dairy industry.
Fonterra says securing capital for future growth will depend on how its farmers manage emissions on-farm.
The co-operative plans to start discussions with farmer shareholders "about what a target will look like and how we'll get there".
Chief executive Miles Hurrell says having a target will help secure high value customers, enable the co-op and farmer owners to meet ongoing regulations as well as secure future finance.
Hurrell says there is "a strong pull" coming from customers, consumers and the capital market.
"Our access to the capital will be linked to how we are dealing with emissions on farm," he says.
Fonterra acknowledges making change on-farm is not easy.
Hurrell points out that the co-op currently has 18 methane-reduction projects underway and 30 active trials of potential solutions.
"These activities support us in building a stronger co-op for the future, and we'll be out talking about these topics over the coming months.
"As we've said earlier, we're well positioned to navigate the challenges we're currently seeing, while also looking out to the needs of our customers and consumers in the years ahead.
"This long-term view determines the steps we need to take today to ensure we continue to be a dairy provider of choice and strong co-op for generations to come."
The co-op is also investing in R&D and new technologies to help reduce emissions on-farm.
Projects underway include a new private-public partnership joint venture announced in November, through which Government and partners from across the food and fibre sectors will work together to reduce methane emissions.
Hurrell says the co-op is also making progress in work to transition its manufacturing sites out of coal by 2037.
"At our Waitoa site we're converting one of our boilers to wood biomass.
"Scheduled to be operating later this year, the new boiler will reduce the site's annual emissions by 48,000 tonnes of CO2e, the equivalent of taking 20,000 cars off New Zealand's roads."
According to the most recent Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, farmer confidence has inched higher, reaching its second highest reading in the last decade.
From 1 October, new livestock movement restrictions will be introduced in parts of Central Otago dealing with infected possums spreading bovine TB to livestock.
Phoebe Scherer, a technical manager from the Bay of Plenty, has won the 2025 Young Grower of the Year national title.
The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.
Award-winning boutique cheese company, Cranky Goat Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having…
OPINION: The Gene Technology Bill has divided the farming community with strong arguments on both the pros and cons of…