Winston Peters calls Fonterra vote result 'utter madness'
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
Fonterra is maintaining its forecast farmgate milk payout of $4.70/kgMS this season.
However, the co-op has lowered its forecast dividend to 20-30 cents/share, resulting in a forecast cash payout of $4.90 - $5.00/kgMS.
The co-op announced its half-year results in Auckland this morning; a 10c cent interim dividend was declared.
Fonterra chairman John Wilson says that given the results achieved in the first half of the year and the continued volatility in international prices, the co-op is holding its forecast milk payout.
Revenue for six months ending January 2015 reached $9.7 billion, down 14% over the same period last year.
Net profit after tax (NPAT) was $183 million, down 16%.
Wilson says the half-year results are below farmers' expectations "in a period when the Farmgate Milk Price is low and we are reducing the forecast dividend range."
"Our half-year results are a snapshot of tough conditions in dairy with variable production, demand and pricing," says Wilson.
"There was also the challenge of generating profit from inventory made in the previous financial year when the cost of milk was higher, but sold in the first quarter of the financial year when global dairy prices were falling.
"In New Zealand, milk production got off to an excellent start. A very dry summer in most regions curtailed production in the last three weeks of January, with the cooperative reducing its milk volume forecast to slightly below last season's production.
The co-op's current milk supply forecast for the 2014-15 season has increased to 1,551m kgMS, 2% per cent below the 2013-14 season.
Acclaimed fruit grower Dean Astill never imagined he would have achieved so much in the years since being named the first Young Horticulturist of the Year, 20 years ago.
The Ashburton-based Carrfields Group continues to show commitment to future growth and in the agricultural sector with its latest investment, the recently acquired 'Spring Farm' adjacent to State Highway 1, Winslow, just south of Ashburton.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.

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