Ah Tatua, You've Done It Again!
Waikato milk processor Tatua has again declared a record milk payout to farmer shareholders, leaving other processors in the dust.
Synlait milk has doubled its milk powder canning capability with the opening of a $55 million facility at Mangere, Auckland.
The blending and consumer-goods packaging plant can pack 32,000 tonnes annually.
The plant removes the single-site risk inherent in operating the Dundandel plant only.
The company expects demand for consumer packaged products to increase significantly in the near term. A tremendous amount of work has gone into this milestone, says chief executive John Penno.
“We acquired this partially completed facility in May and have done a lot of work to commission it in just over six months.
“We have employed a great team of 30 people to operate the facility and we expect that number to increase to 100 in the coming year as we add additional shifts.”
Synlait is bracing for growth in business with infant formula customers.
“Under the Chinese Food and Drug Administration infant formula rules coming into effect on January 1, 2018 this second site enables us to increase the potential number of our customer brands we can export to China.”
Alliance Group has confirmed that eligible farmer-shareholders who supply and continue to back the business will receive up to $20 million later this year, following the strategic investment partnership with Dawn Meats.
With a general election under five weeks away, Rural News is asking major political parties about their policies and positions on key issues facing the primary sector. We will run their responses to each question over the next four weeks. The ACT Party and the Greens didn't respond in time.
The red meat sector is in great heart.
Dr Scott Champion, Foundation for Arable Research chief executive, says that everyone in the supply chain had a role to play in driving the sector's long-term success.
The Minister for Rural Communities, Mark Patterson, says there's a massive infrastructure deficit in rural areas.
Entries opened on Monday, 5 October 2026 for the 2027 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA), which organisers describe as the nation's biggest celebration of excellence in the dairy sector.
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