Two Major NZ Dairy Deals Completed
Two major acquisitions in the New Zealand dairy sector were completed this week.
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.
While the District Field Days brought with it a welcome dose of sunshine, it also attracted a significant cohort of sitting members from the Beehive – as one might expect in an election year.
Irish Minister of State of Agriculture, Noel Grealish was in New Zealand recently for an official visit.
While not all sibling rivalries come to blows, one headline event at the recent New Zealand Rural Games held in Palmerston North certainly did, when reigning World Champion Jack Jordan was denied the opportunity of defending his world title in Europe later this year, after being beaten by his big brother’s superior axle blows, at the Stihl Timbersports Nationals.
AgriZeroNZ has invested $5.1 million in Australian company Rumin8 to accelerate development of its methane-reducing products for cattle and bring them to New Zealand.
Farmers want more direct, accurate information about both fuel and fertiliser supply.
A bull on a freight plane sounds like the start of a joke, but for Ian Bryant, it is a fond memory of days gone by.

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