Fonterra shaves 50c off forecast milk price
Fonterra has dropped its forecast milk price mid-point by 50c as a surge in global milk production is putting downward pressure on commodity prices.
Your old mate sympathises with the plight of the country’s dairy farmers and how the falling payout is impacting their financial stability.
However, the Hound suggests that while moves by Fonterra to save money and help returns to its shareholders is for the most part a good thing, some of its austerity measures border on penny-pinching stupidity. One example is the way it treats farmer members of the Shareholders Council. Despite the fact these councillors regularly fly from all parts of the country to meet at Fonterra HQ in Auckland, the dairy co-op does not stump up for Koru club membership. And when the councillors arrive at Auckland airport they then have to take a bus into town for their meetings at Fonterra’s head office ‘gumboot castle’!
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.
The black and white coat of Holstein- Friesian cows is globally recognised as a symbol of dairy farming and a defining trait of domestic cattle. But until recently, scientists didn’t know which genes were responsible for the Holstein’s spots.
According to the New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2024/25 report, New Zealand dairy farmers are achieving more with fewer cows.

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