Wednesday, 20 December 2023 11:00

Tough times

Written by  The Hound

OPINION: The Hound reckons that Rob “I’ll be chair, I don’t care where”’ Hewett will be looking forward to the Christmas break more than most – despite being named chair of the year at a recent business awards ceremony.

That’s because the two farmer co-ops Hewett chairs have both recently reported losses for the past year.

Silver Fern Farms posted a massive loss of $98 million and the struggling Farmlands a $700k loss.

For the self-confessed big ‘Jacinda fan’ and supposed top-notch businessman this is a pretty poor record.

Meanwhile, it seems the trouble at Farmlands is not just around its poor bottom-line performance but the co-op’s whole business model.

Shareholders, suppliers and customers seem very upset with the direction and ‘reconfiguring’ the business. ‘Chairman Rob’ also has the ongoing disaster that is Wool Impact, which seems to have done bugger all.

More like this

Wrong focus

OPINION: Your old mate reckons townie Brooke van Velden, the Minister of Workplace (or is it Woke Place) Relations is now showing how underemployed she is as a minister by initiating an investigation into whether young children should be banned from collecting eggs on farms and feeding animals.

Featured

Editorial: Indian FTA is great news

OPINION: Trade Minister Todd McClay and the trade negotiator in government have presented Kiwis with an amazing gift for 2026 - a long awaited and critical free trade deal with India.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

The bow-tie effect

OPINION: If the hand-wringing, cravat and bow-tie wearing commentariat of a left-leaning persuasion had any influence on global markets, we'd…

Famous last words

OPINION: With Winston Peters playing politics with the PM's Indian FTA, all eyes will be on Labour who have the…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter