Lactalis in front to acquire Fonterra’s Australian dairy assets after ACCC clearance
The world's largest dairy company may be in pole position to acquire Fonterra's Australian assets.
Farmers supplying Fonterra’s Wagga Wagga factory in the NSW Riverina have been offered a new pricing agreement aimed at taking the volatility out of milk income.
After years of farmer lobbying, the processer offered a ‘cap and collar’ option, which will put a floor and a ceiling on the farmgate milk price for three years.
About 20 farmers from Wagga Wagga and Finley districts supply the factory that produces Riverina Fresh products for the east coast market.
Euberta farmers Neil and Simone Jolliffe say they’ve sought this certainty since buying their farm seven years ago.
“When we bought the farm we were on A56 cents/L and the following year we dropped to A36c,” Jolliffe says.
“It’s come at a good time for us. We’re looking to grow the business but we didn’t want to grow it and take a big hit like we did in 2009. Now we’ve got an assurance that for the next three years this will be our price.”
Neil Jolliffe estimates this will mean his milk cheque will only fluctuate by about 4 cents/L over the next three years.
New Zealand milk production is off to a strong start, with the first month of the 2025/26 dairy season recording a whopping 17.8% jump in milk production, compared to the previous season.
With adverse weather set to rain down on the Top of the South, the Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says farmers, foresters, and growers need to prepare for possible challenges.
Keep up with innovation and e-commerce in China or risk losing market share. That was the message delivered at the China Business Summit in Auckland this month.
Meat Industry Association (MIA) independent chair Nathan Guy says getting meat processors involved has been a shot in the arm for the sector's key marketing initiative into China, Taste Pure Nature.
Listed carpet manufacturer, Bremworth is undertaking a $6 million expansion at its Napier plant more than two years after the site was heavily damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Federated Farmers is vowing to keep the big banks accountable for their actions and to continue pushing for meaningful change in the rural lending sector.
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