Farmlands Co-operative Appoints Rachel Aldikacti as Chief Sales Officer
Farmlands Co-operative has announced Rachel Aldikacti will be its new chief sales officer.
Rural Trader Farmlands has appointed Dr Claire Nicholson to its board of directors.
Nicholson is a director of Parininihi ki Waitōtara Inc (PKW) and chief executive of Sirona Animal Health.
She is a member of the Māori, Stakeholders and Science Advisory Groups for the New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, a member of the industry advisory group for a joint government and University of Otago project developing new antimicrobials for the animal health sector and previously was general manager for animal health company Intervet in New Zealand.
Nicholson holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and is a graduate of the Hillary Leadership Programme, the Agri-Women’s Development Trust’s Accelerate Programme and Fonterra’s Development Programme.
Farmlands chair Rob Hewett says he is delighted to welcome Nicholson to the board.
“Claire has more than twenty years’ professional experience relevant to Farmlands in veterinary science and animal health, agribusiness, business development and marketing, technical research, environment and governance.”
Hewett says Nicholson’s appointment strengthens the experience and perspectives of the board at an important time for the retailer.
“Her experience in, and commitment to, innovation will be valuable as Farmlands’ management team, led by recently-appointed CEO Tanya Houghton, delivers on a broad programme of renewal and change.”
“Having been involved in many sectors of the rural industry for over 20 years, I am excited to join Farmlands at this time. I look forward to offering my experience gained from a range of organisations to help Farmlands deliver improvements for shareholders, customers and partners,” says Nicholson.
A partnership between Canterbury milk processor Synlait and the world's largest food producer, Nestlé, has been celebrated with a visit to a North Canterbury farm by a group including senior staff from Synlait, the Ravensdown subsidiary EcoPond, and Nestlé's Switzerland head office.
Canterbury milk processor Synlait is blaming what it calls "a perfect storm" of setbacks for a big loss in its half year result for the six months ended January 31, 2026.
More of the same please, says Federated Farmers dairy chair Karl Dean when asked about who should succeed Miles Hurrell as Fonterra chief executive.
A Waikato farmer who set up a 'tinder' for cows - using artificial intelligence to find the perfect bull for each cow - days the first-year results are better than expected.
Fonterra says it's keeping an eye on the Middle East crisis and its implications for global supply chains.
The closure of the McCain processing plant and the recent announcement of 300 job losses at Wattie’s underscore the mounting pressure facing New Zealand’s manufacturing sector, Buy NZ Made says.

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