Editorial: Punching Above Our Weight
OPINION: With 10,500 dairy farms, New Zealand continues to punch above its weight around the world.
MICHAEL SPAANS has been elected as the new director on the Fonterra Board of Directors.
Spaans, aged 50, lives in Hamilton and farms at Te Aroha. He was a Shareholders' Councillor from 2000 to 2008 and is currently a director of DairyNZ and several other dairy sector companies.
Shareholders voted to re-elect incumbent directors Malcolm Bailey and Ian Farrelly, says returning officer, Warwick Lampp, of electionz.com Ltd.
Shareholders Scott Montgomery and Gerard Wolvers were elected unopposed as members of the Directors' Remuneration Committee.
In the Shareholders' Council elections Rosss Wallis was elected in Ward 8 – Hamilton and Vaughn Brophy, Ward 21 – Coastal Taranaki.
Both are new Shareholders' Councillors.
In the 11 other Shareholders' Council wards where elections were due, nominees were elected unopposed. The councillors in those wards are:
Ward 3 - Northern Wairoa Penny Smart
Ward 6 - Hauraki Julie Pirie
Ward 9 - Morrinsville Malcolm Piggott
Ward 12 - Cambridge Kevin Monks
Ward 15 - South Waikato Ian Brown
Ward 18 - Otorohanga Duncan Coull
Ward 24 - Southern Taranaki David Werder
Ward 27 - Southern Manawatu Richard Syme
Ward 30 - Northern Central Canterbury Ange Ward
Ward 32 - Southern Canterbury John Gregan
Ward 33 - Otago Ad Bekkers and Ivan Lines
All successful candidates will take office at the close of the annual meeting on Wednesday, November 27, 2013.
Conversions of sheep and beef farms to forestry have slowed, however new research from Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) suggests land of value for food production remains at risk.
OPINION: A simpler, clearer, more effective Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.
Too many farmers put reclaiming excise duty on petrol into the "too-hard" basket, says farm accounting software provider, Farm Focus.
Tatua Co-operative Dairy Company has confirmed that chair and director Stephen Allen will retire at the co-operative's annual general meeting (AGM) on 3 December 2026, ending 30 years of service, including more than 20 years as Chair.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Simon Upton, wants environmental information to be treated as critical national infrastructure.
A Morrinsville business celebrating its 30th birthday has shaken up the street scene in the Waikato township.

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