Keeping cyber attacks at bay
Fonterra says it takes the ongoing threat of 'adverse cyber action' extremely seriously.
Fonterra is being as transparent and open as possible, but questions on the timeline of events will need to wait until internal and external reviews, says managing director of New Zealand Milk Products, Gary Romano.
Asked at a press conference yesterday why Fonterra did not put a crisis plan in place when they had reason to retest the whey in March, Romano said "at that point there was no belief by anyone that this was going to lead to concern for the consumers".
However he said they did not want to comment further on timelines and decisions made at this stage.
"There will be a time when we go through the timeline," he said. "That timeline will be subject to our own internal review, and our expectation is that MPI will have oversight of that review. I don't want to pre-empt what is happening.
"What I would really like is for science to take over here and explain what we did when and why. There's a process for that, you can be assured there will be a process not only internally, but there will be external oversight. It's premature to ask about which tests were done when and why."
He said the focus right now was an operational one. "It is very much about getting information out to our customers, so they can do their job in getting product off the shelf. That's out immediate focus."
Earlier he said Fonterra will be as transparent and open as it could, and move at speed. "Sometimes that speed means we don't have all the complete information with us, but we are acting transparently, we are moving at speed and we are trying to do what is best for consumers."
Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
OPINION: The world is bracing for a trade war between the two biggest economies.