Fonterra chairman John Wilson spoke at the co-op’s recent annual meeting in Palmerston North. Here are excerpts from his speech.

MANY BELIEVE that using sharemilking as a stepping stone towards farm ownership is becoming a thing of the past, but Irishman Bernard Kelly and his Kiwi wife Jo are following this path to achieve their dreams. 

KIERAN AND Leonie Guiney entered the Dairy Business of the Year competition to prove a point. And at a field day earlier this month they made it.

A BIG drop in the milksolids price has left many farmers wondering how they can make a profit – or at least minimise their loss – in what promises to be a financially challenging season. 

AN AWARD-WINNING effluent pond on a North Canterbury dairy farm is meeting its owner’s needs and satisfies the requirements of the regional authority, reports the contractor.

EFFLUENT PUMP maker Numedic says its new horizontal effluent pump is a “complete solution” as pumping from above-ground effluent storage tanks becomes more popular.

ABOUT 90% of Waikato’s 2600 dairy farmers have lodged dairy shed water-take consent applications. The Waikato Regional Council is urging the remainder to apply before the December 24 deadline.

ONFARM EFFLUENT systems must comply with council regulations and safeguard the environment, says pond liner supplier Viking Containment (formerly Skellerup).

DARE I say it? If you are aged 29 or over you can stop reading this message (about effluent) right now, because you’ll either know it all, or have made up your mind about it and be inflexible in your thinking. Younger minds when reading this will get an inkling of the underlying message and start to see the light. 

NEW ZEALAND farmers face constant pressure to minimise their impact on the environment and to reuse, recycle and take responsibility for their farming ‘footprint’. This is an area of farm management increasingly in the compliance spotlight.