Misguided campaign
OPINION: Last week, Greenpeace lit up Fonterra's Auckland headquarters with 'messages from the common people' - that the sector is polluting the environment.
Fonterra chairman John Wilson has admitted that the co-op has "dropped the ball" when communicating with shareholders.
During a discussion with shareholders at the co-op's annual meeting in Waitoa today, Wilson said that informing farmers earlier this year about new PKE usage limits was one such example.
Wilson says the co-op must get its communications better and it is the front of mind for management.
Former King Country MP, Shane Ardern told the meeting that the co-op was unable to take stakeholders along on its strategy "in these turbulent times".
"We definitely have communication issues," Ardern told the meeting.
"We have to do better in our PR department."
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the 2025 Fieldays has been one of more positive he has attended.
A fundraiser dinner held in conjunction with Fieldays raised over $300,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
Recent results from its 2024 financial year has seen global farm machinery player John Deere record a significant slump in the profits of its agricultural division over the last year, with a 64% drop in the last quarter of the year, compared to that of 2023.
An agribusiness, helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sector, has picked up a top innovation award at Fieldays.
The Fieldays Innovation Award winners have been announced with Auckland’s Ruminant Biotech taking out the Prototype Award.
Following twelve years of litigation, a conclusion could be in sight of Waikato’s controversial Plan Change 1 (PC1).