Why Fonterra accepted defeat in the dairy aisle
OPINION: Fonterra's sale of its consumer dairy business to Lactalis is a clear sign of the co-operative’s failure to compete in the branded consumer market.
Farmers already under the pump in trying to meet the requirements of the Government’s impending Zero Carbon Bill legislation will soon be hit soon by even more compliance costs.
With new freshwater standards to be announced in the next few weeks, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor told TVNZ’s Q&A programme that he expects farmers’ costs in meeting new freshwater rules will be about “1-2%.”
O’Connor conceded that even more costs are not something farmers want, yet he expects them to “absorb” them.
While the minister claimed the Government opposes laying even more compliance costs on businesses, he said “some extra costs are essential” and “improved water quality across the country is wanted and necessary”.
Meanwhile, in the interview O’Connor also put the boot into Fonterra’s former board and management for the dairy co-op’s current woes.
“Crazy decisions made over the years are now coming home to roost,” he told Q&A.
But he says the “new” board and management is now being upfront and honest with farmers in its writedowns of the value of the co-op’s investments.
O’Connor was quick to point the finger at Fonterra’s “old” management and governance, saying it was “a good thing” former chief executive Theo Spierings is now gone. He also labelled Spierings’ $4.7 million exit payment as “ridiculous”.
“That is something the old board would have to answer for,” he said.
On the upcoming Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) revision, O’Connor said the bill coming before Parliament is “about right”. He claims it will provide Fonterra a bit more protection.
“It means Fonterra [won’t] have to pick up all new milk supply and imposes new environmental and animal welfare requirements on farmers.”
But the minister says he has an open mind about making changes arising from the work of the parliamentary select committee.
Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.
OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.
DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.
'Common sense' cuts to government red tape will make it easier for New Zealand to deliver safe food to more markets.
Balclutha farmer Renae Martin remembers the moment she fell in love with cows.
Academic freedom is a privilege and it's put at risk when people abuse it.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.