NZ AGRICULTURE SHOW
MACHINERY
NEWS
Same show but with a different name. PAGE 42-44
Mowers get silage contractors off on right foot. PAGE 49
Millennials are the future of agri PAGE 12
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS NOVEMBER 6, 2018: ISSUE 664
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Another election on the cards? SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz
IT’S POSSIBLE that Fonterra’s board election could deliver a hung result this week – with voting closing at 10.30 am on Tuesday November 6. The co-op’s revised director election process, implemented last year, requires farmers to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ against each candidate. This year, five candidates – Peter McBride, Jamie Tuuta, Ashley Waugh, Leonie Guiney and John Nicholls – are vying for three board seats. If three candidates fail to achieve the 50% ‘yes’ vote threshold, another director election could be on the cards. Online voting requires farmers to cast a vote against each candidate; a maximum of three yes votes. Online voting won’t register unless farmers have used one, two or three of their yes votes, and all remaining no votes. To win, a candidate must get more than 50% of those voting for him or her, so ‘no’ votes are as essential as well as ‘yes’ votes. Because there are five candidates for three places, it is possible none, one, two or three could get elected. Fonterra Shareholders Council chairman Duncan Coull told Rural News he wouldn’t speculate on the results as voting was on. Coull says the director election pro-
cess was approved by farmer shareholders three years ago. “If we fail to elect three directors, then the council will run another election.” Last year, when Fonterra used the new director voting system for the first time, but there were only three candidates for three vacant director seats. All three candidates – chairman John Monaghan, Brent Goldsack and Andy Macfarlane – got over the 50% threshold. This year, the independent selec-
tion panel recommended three candidates- sitting director Waugh, McBride and Tuuta. Nicholls and former director
M.BOVIS BILL PUNCH-UP PAM TIPA pamelat@ruralnews.co.nz
Guiney self-nominated for the election. A Fonterra farmer told Rural News it seems the council never expected TO PAGE 3
Winners are grinners MEGAN ROBERTSON, from a dairy farm at Hari Hari, Westland, jointly won the Rural News Group-sponsored media prize at the annual Massey University agricultural awards. The other winner was Lachie Davidson, now studying in the US. The award is for the best video or photograph that represents life as a Massey agri student. Robertson entered a photograph taken on the family farm. She is now finishing the second year of an agri commerce degree majoring in international business, and says experiencing life on her parents’ dairy farm influenced her to study at Massey University. – More on the awards page 13
DAIRYNZ ARE ‘working through’ the cost-sharing process for the industry share of eradicating Mycoplasma bovis, says BLNZ general manager policy and advocacy Dave Harrison. “To come up with a fair approach we have been making use of an independent panel,” he told Rural News in a joint statement from both industry-good bodies. “We have had initial advice and are providing feedback. Once the process has finalised, a recommendation will go to our respective boards and be shared with farmers. “Given this is a sensitive and important process, we can’t comment on the specifics until it has been agreed and approved by our respective boards.” The cost of the eradication programme is reckoned at $886 million over 10 years. The Government will pay 68% of that and the two levying bodies, DairyNZ and BLNZ, will pay 32% (about $278m). But just exactly how it will be split between them remains under discussion. Earlier this year dairy industry sources said an 80/20 split between dairy farmers and beef farmers would be fair. However, beef farmers were pushing for a 90/10 split, pointing out that dairy farms are at the centre of the outbreak.
BECAUSE UNCERTAINTY IS CERTAIN, THERE’S FMG ARABLE CROP COVER. Hail or windstorm, lightning or frost, they can all hit when you least expect it. So it makes sense to safeguard your livelihood with Arable Crop cover from FMG. It protects your crops while they’re growing, and for up to 12 months after they’ve been harvested. We’ll even pay up to 80% of replanting costs if you have a loss within 40 days of planting. So ask around about us. Or better still, give us a call us on 0800 366 466. This is a summary of our product and is subject to our specific product documentation and underwriting criteria which can be found on our website www.fmg.co.nz or by calling us on 0800 366 466.
We’re here for the good of the country. FMG0828RNFPS