Tuesday, 20 April 2021 17:00

PR-101

Written by The Hound

font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email

OPINION: This old mutt reckons that Fonterra must be learning its PR tricks from the Government.

Since time immemorial, governments who want to bury bad news, release it late on the eve of a holiday or long weekend.

So, accordingly, Fonterra announced that it had finally sold its disastrous investment in its China Farms with a media release sent out at 4.26pm on Easter Thursday eve - when most news organisations around the country had already broken up for the Easter Weekend.

And the spinning didn't stop there.

Despite everyone knowing the dairy co-op's 'investment' in its Chinese farms have been a complete financial and practical cluster, chief executive Miles Hurrell uttered this bull manure: "Fonterra has contributed to the development of the Chinese dairy industry by establishing these farms and we're pleased to now hand ownership over to Youran for the next phase of development".

Featured

Restrictions on fruits, vegetables movement in Mt Roskill

Legal controls on the movement of fruits and vegetables are now in place in Auckland’s Mt Roskill suburb, says Biosecurity New Zealand Commissioner North Mike Inglis.

Free herbicide resistance testing

Arable growers worried that some weeds in their crops may have developed herbicide resistance can now get the suspected plants tested for free.

Fruit fly discovery puts growers, exporters on edge

Fruit growers and exporters are worried following the discovery of a male Queensland fruit fly in Auckland this week.

Global dairy prices snap a five-month negative run

Dairy prices have jumped in the overnight Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction, breaking a five-month negative streak.

Alliance Group chief executive steps down

Alliance Group chief executive Willie Wiese is leaving the company after three years in the role.

New field book helps identify common pests, diseases

A booklet produced in 2025 by the Rotoiti 15 trust, Department of Conservation and Scion – now part of the Bioeconomy Science Institute – aims to help people identify insect pests and diseases.

National

Waitoa launches QR-enabled campaign to trace free range chicken

Poultry producer Waitoa is launching a new campaign, complete with on-pack QR codes, giving Kiwis the ability to trace their…

Rural health programme inspires new optometry graduate

Grace Su, a recent optometry graduate from the University of Auckland, is moving to Tauranga to start work in a…

Waikato dairy effluent breaches lead to $108,000 in fines

Two farmers and two farming companies were recently convicted and fined a total of $108,000 for environmental offending.

Geopolitical shifts drive fertiliser market volatility – Ravensdown

According to Ravensdown's most recent Market Outlook report, a combination of geopolitical movements and volatile market responses are impacting the…

Environment Canterbury promotes on-farm composting as a practical alternative to offal pits

Environment Canterbury, alongside industry partners and a group of farmers, is encouraging farmers to consider composting as an environmentally friendly…