Fonterra Suppliers Confident in Mainland Dairy Future
Fonterra's 460 milk suppliers in Australia, who will switch to Lactalis end of this month, are unfazed with the impending change.
Outgoing Zespri chairman Peter McBride and South Canterbury farmer Leonie Guiney have been voted onto Fonterra’s board.
However, a third director couldn’t be elected as the unsuccessful candidates - sitting director Ashley Waugh and Jamie Tuuta and John Nicholls failed to get 50% yes vote among the votes cast.
In accordance with the rules for election of directors, a second election must take place. Details of process and timing will be communicated to shareholders in due course. The board may appoint a director to fill the vacancy until the next election, but may not appoint an unsuccessful candidate.
Outgoing director Nicola Shadbolt could be asked to continue serving on the board until the new election.
McBride lives at Te Puna and has farming interests in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. He has extensive experience in the kiwifruit industry and has recently announced that he will step down as chairman of Zespri in February.
Guiney lives and farms near Fairlie, where she is a director of four dairy farming companies. She previously served on the Fonterra Board from 2014 to 2017.
Guiney’s nomination was supported by farmers and she bypassed the independent nomination process.
The three candidates chosen by the independent nomination process and backed by the board were McBride, Tuuta and Waugh.
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
Ravensdown's next evolution in smart farming technology, HawkEye Pro, was awarded the Technology Section Award at the Southern Field Days Farm Innovation Awards in February 2026.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.

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