Misguided campaign
OPINION: Last week, Greenpeace lit up Fonterra's Auckland headquarters with 'messages from the common people' - that the sector is polluting the environment.
Fonterra chairman John Wilson and chief executive Theo Spierings will lead a board of directors' visit to China next week to meet with Fonterra management and key stakeholders.
Wilson says the cooperative's board had already planned to visit China in early September for directors to meet with Fonterra staff and stakeholders, and view progress on Fonterra's farming hub in Yutian.
"Now that it has been confirmed that there was no Clostridium botulinum in our whey protein concentrate, we need to address any remaining concerns our stakeholders in China might have.
"The feedback we have been getting is that people believe we did the right thing in initiating the precautionary recall, but at the same time we want to provide every assurance about our food safety and quality systems and processes.
"The visit provides an important opportunity to help rebuild trust and respect for Fonterra and New Zealand dairy products and confirm our commitment to supporting the Chinese dairy industry," says Wilson.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the 2025 Fieldays has been one of more positive he has attended.
A fundraiser dinner held in conjunction with Fieldays raised over $300,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
Recent results from its 2024 financial year has seen global farm machinery player John Deere record a significant slump in the profits of its agricultural division over the last year, with a 64% drop in the last quarter of the year, compared to that of 2023.
An agribusiness, helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sector, has picked up a top innovation award at Fieldays.
The Fieldays Innovation Award winners have been announced with Auckland’s Ruminant Biotech taking out the Prototype Award.
Following twelve years of litigation, a conclusion could be in sight of Waikato’s controversial Plan Change 1 (PC1).