increase font size
Victorian farmers who supply Fonterra’s Stanhope plant – Jared and Courtney Ireland with children Addison, 8 and Logan, 6.
Fonterra is eyeing a bigger slice of the booming Asian pizza business for its Australian-made cheese.
Mozzarella production is resuming in Australia, at the co-op’s new cheese plant in Stanhope, northern Victoria; the plant will be officially opened on Friday.
Fonterra Australia managing director René Dedoncker says China, particularly, has strong demand for the cheese, which tops at least half the pizzas made there.
“In China, the growth in Western-style foodservice outlets has meant more opportunities for Chinese people to try cheese and many are developing a taste for it, particularly on pizza. The market potential is enormous,” says Dedoncker.
Farmers Jared and Courtney Ireland run a 450-cow dairy farm in the rural town of Lockington in northern Victoria. Their fresh milk is supplied to Fonterra’s Stanhope plant and will be used to make mozzarella for China.
Courtney says he enjoys seeing his milk going to high-value mozzarella for China.
“My family loves eating pizza... and we can tell our children our farm’s milk goes into making mozzarella for pizzas in China.
“Stanhope’s new cheese plant coming online gives us confidence in a strong, sustainable future for dairy in Australia.”
About 40% of people in urban China now eat at Western-style fast food outlets once a week, and the use of dairy in foodservice has grown 30% in five years.
“As disposable incomes rise in China, spending on dining out is growing, and pizza is a popular menu choice.
“This supports our strategy to be Fonterra’s global ingredients hub for cheese, whey and nutritionals, complementing our consumer and foodservice businesses.
“This helps us move our farmers’ milk up the value chain into higher-value dairy products, which means sustainable returns for everyone in the supply chain, starting at the farm gate.”
As dairy farmers lock in plans for the upcoming mating season, a partnership between Fonterra and Silver Fern Farms has been formed with the aim of making it simpler to create additional value from calves not entering the replacement herd.
South Waikato farmer Bas Nelis is always interested in fine-tuning his business to improve results.
Fonterra has reduced its forecast 2026/27 Farmgate Milk Price.
Fonterra's Whareroa site took home the prestigious Directors Award at the co-op's 'Oscars of Manufacturing', while Clandeboye led the way with multiple wins at this year's Best Site Cup.
After 25 years it is the right time to step away, says Colin Glass, the retiring chief executive of New Zealand's largest private corporate dairying company, Dairy Holdings.
Tayla Steele is in her fourth year of a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at Massey University in Palmerston North.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) says no new cases of H5 bird flu have been detected following a case found earlier this week.
Two months after unveiling a major upgrade to its beef product, Halter says its farmers are on track for major production gains and additional grass growth.
New Zealanders are being urged to be alert following a confirmed positive case of H5 bird flu this week.
With a third of NZ dairy farmers still running outdated refrigerants, the country's largest farm refrigeration company says the opportunity for quick, meaningful emissions gains has never been clearer.
OPINION: Farmers are being put on notice by the Green Party.
