Fonterra Suppliers Confident in Mainland Dairy Future
Fonterra's 460 milk suppliers in Australia, who will switch to Lactalis end of this month, are unfazed with the impending change.
FONTERRA'S $120 million UHT milk processing site at Waitoa has produced its first 25,000 Anchor UHT cream packs ready for sale.
UHT operations manager, Donald Lumsden, says the first production marks a significant milestone for the Waitoa UHT site, which has transformed from a green field to a state-of-the-art milk processing facility in just 12 months.
"More than 500 people have been involved in the construction of the site and all their hard work has paid off. The first commercial production went smoothly and we produced 25,000 litres of cream ready for sale – this is a great result."
The site will enable Fonterra to increase its UHT production capacity by 100% over the next few years. It will process more than 100 million litres of milk per year when all five of its milk processing lines are up and running.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.
New Zealand farming is riding a high, with strong prices, full feed covers and improving confidence lining up at the same time.
Manawatu Mayor Michael Ford says the district sees itself as the agribusiness capital of the lower North Island.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is looking forward to connecting with farmers, rural professionals and community members at this year's Central District Field Days.
Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins has announced a reshuffle of the party's caucus portfolios.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says a series of rural resilienced set to be rolled out next week will help farmers and growers better prepared for adverse weather events.
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