Fonterra farmers are questioning the timing of the announcement of chief executive‘s Theo Spierings departure.

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings is to leave by the end of this year.

Fonterra has posted a half-year loss of $348 million on the back of a huge write-down of its Beingmate investment in China.

A Massey University professor of animal welfare has been advising China’s animal production officials on raising their industry’s welfare standards.

Fresh milk produced in New Zealand is now available for the first time on supermarket shelves in Shanghai.

Troubled Chinese infant formula company Beingmate has sold a subsidiary, despite opposition from cornerstone shareholder Fonterra which owns an 18.8% interest.

Independent dairy processor Synlait is to set up an R&D centre at Massey University, Palmerston North.

Despite the stink bug nuisance, farm machinery distributors are seeing little or no effect on their logistics chains because most of their products are containerised, except for large tractors and harvesters. 

Fonterra is not the only global dairy co-op struggling to save a joint venture in China.

Agriculture is in a sweet spot, says ASB rural economist Nathan Penny.