Raising the bar for lawmaking
OPINION: Farmers and growers know the frustration well: Pointless paperwork, slow consents, and confusing red tape that turns simple tasks into complex ones.
Federated Farmers dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard says as shareholder of Fonterra he’s heard “didley squat” about the US cheese licence saga.
He’s also unimpressed by Fonterra’s “lack of contrition”.
Speaking as a shareholder of Fonterra and not in his capacity as a Fed Farmers board member, Hoggard says he and other farmers are disappointed and not amused at the “mistake”.
“Dairy farmers are facing all sorts of challenges right now including the drought and prospect of a low payout,” he told Dairy News.
“This is not what they want to hear. In the big scheme of things the loss is not big and won’t materially impact badly on farmers. But it’s a morale deflater, one of those things you don’t want to hear. You want to hear the co-op is making smart decisions and that everyone is on their game; you don’t want to see dumb little things like this happening.”
Hoggard says people in Fonterra are being paid some “serious money” to get these things right.
“Fonterra [might] have flicked an email out to shareholders saying ‘sorry we stuffed up; this is bad, forgive us and it won’t happen again’ but I haven’t seen anything and that doesn’t impress me.”
Hoggard says Fonterra’s mistake could result from recent restructuring.
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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