Fonterra Suppliers Confident in Mainland Dairy Future
Fonterra's 460 milk suppliers in Australia, who will switch to Lactalis end of this month, are unfazed with the impending change.
Fonterra's board is holding a special meeting this afternoon to decide whether TAF (trading among farmers) will go ahead.
Votes cast at eight meeting venues around the country are now being counted. The meeting ended at 1.35pm.
Fonterra chairman Henry van der Heyden says he has convened a special board meeting this afternoon.
"Once the votes are counted and the results are out, the board will decide whether to proceed with TAF," he told the Hamilton meeting.
Van der Heyden says he will email shareholders on the board decision before holding a media conference.
He has asked for "a clear mandate" from shareholders.
Meanwhile Federated Farmers Dairy chairman Willy Leferink is urging shareholders to respect the board's decision.
"I urge shareholders to show respect to whatever decision the board makes this afternoon," he told farmers from the Ashburton meeting.
He thanks the Fonterra board for holding the second vote on TAF.
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
Ravensdown's next evolution in smart farming technology, HawkEye Pro, was awarded the Technology Section Award at the Southern Field Days Farm Innovation Awards in February 2026.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.

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