Friday, 02 February 2018 13:41

Westland forced to halt milk processing

Written by 
Westland says damage caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Fehi has halted production at its Hokitika plant. Westland says damage caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Fehi has halted production at its Hokitika plant.

Westland says damage caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Fehi has halted production at its Hokitika plant.

In a statement, the West Coast-based co-op says the factory remains on limited power and is unable to process milk.

“All collected milk is being diverted to other dairy processors.

“At this stage we expect it will be 24 to 48 hours before we are fully operational again.”

The co-op was also unable to pick milk from Ikamatua and northern farms, Mt Hercules south and Runanga and north to Karamea; limited collection was done around Mt Hercules, Ikamatua and Springs Junction.

Additionally, some farmers are without electric power and are unable to maintain milk in their storage vats below the maximum required to retain quality and food safety.

This means some farmers will have to recycle milk to their effluent ponds or dispose onto land as they either reach storage capacity or have been unable to keep milk chilled to the required levels.

Westland is asking farmers, before disposing milk, to try to contact any of the following Westland staff to check on tanker availability: Wayne Climo 021 376 491, Doug Cochrane 027 434 1964, Taane Johnsen 027 886 2765, Penny McIntosh 027 886 2763 or Mark Martini 027 886 2764. 

More like this

Industry monitoring dry conditions

While it has been a great spring and summer for farmers, soil moisture levels in the Waikato are now plummeting as the dry February starts to bite.

Top dairy CEO quits

Arguably one of the country's top dairy company's chief executives, Richard Wyeth has abruptly quit Chinese owned Westland Milk Products (WMP)

Wairoa flood review findings released

A review into the Wairoa flooding event on 26 June 2024 has found the flood was caused by a combination of factors leading to the river backing up and overflowing.

Featured

Horticulture exports hit $8.4B, surge toward $10B by 2029

A brilliant result and great news for growers and regional economies. That's how horticulture sector leaders are describing the news that sector exports for the year ended June 30 will reach $8.4 billion - an increase of 19% on last year and is forecast to hit close to $10 billion in 2029.

National

Machinery & Products

Farming smarter with technology

The National Fieldays is an annual fixture in the farming calendar: it draws in thousands of farmers, contractors, and industry…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

110,000 visitors!

OPINION: It's official, Fieldays 2025 clocked 110,000 visitors over the four days.

Sticky situation

OPINION: The Federated Farmers rural advocacy hub at Fieldays has been touted as a great success.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter