Why Fonterra accepted defeat in the dairy aisle
OPINION: Fonterra's sale of its consumer dairy business to Lactalis is a clear sign of the co-operative’s failure to compete in the branded consumer market.
OPINION: Fonterra has quietly offloaded its 50% stake in Agrifeeds, a major importer of palm kernel expeller into New Zealand.
In an email to farmers, the co-operative revealed that it pocketed $27 million from the deal with JV partner Wilmar International.
Fonterra’s involvement in PKE importation has been on the receiving end of protests by environment lobbyists like Greenpeace, who claim PKE is a by-product of the palm oil industry, which is the leading cause of rainforest destruction in Indonesia.
Fonterra’s PR machine has been quiet on the sale and so has Greenpeace, who would be hoping that this could be the start of the end of PKE trading in NZ.
Fonterra hasn’t completely folded though and will still sell PKE through its Farm Source stores.
Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
According to the most recent Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, farmer confidence has inched higher, reaching its second highest reading in the last decade.
OPINION: Should cows in NZ be microchipped?
OPINION: Legislation being drafted to bring back the controversial trade of live animal exports by sea is getting stuck in the…