Fonterra CEO

[kiwi pom]

So anyone fancy a new job, been a vacancy for so long they've stopped looking.
Working for 10,000 farmers cant be that hard can it?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/fa...wn-chance-to-head-fonterra-and-earn-5m-a-year

 

[dairyrow]

Surprised they haven't promoted from with in.

 

[vantage]

The perfect person ,Kate Allum,formerly First Milk CEO.Would do a world of good for UK dairying!!!!!!

 

[Irish NZ]

So anyone fancy a new job, been a vacancy for so long they've stopped looking.
Working for 10,000 farmers cant be that hard can it?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/fa...wn-chance-to-head-fonterra-and-earn-5m-a-year

Old saying... pay peanuts get monkeys

 

[kiwi pom]

Old saying... pay peanuts get monkeys

I think the entry point for someone that can turn things round is getting better with them announcing a big loss today. Starting at the bottom and turning things round is a better option than taking over a success and having to maintain it.
They really need to get the DIRA regulations changed though, its working far too much in favour of the competition now.
Having to take on anyone that wants to supply, whilst other companies can just set up in the best areas and cherry pick the suppliers it wants is killing them.
It means they have to keep upping capacity and finding more buyers for product.
Peak season they're often making products they don't really want to just to get rid of the milk.

 

[kiwi pom]

Having much of the country and perhaps the government, hating them doesn't help either. Overseas processing companies are fine though.
Cant get my head round that one

 

[Irish NZ]

I think the entry point for someone that can turn things round is getting better with them announcing a big loss today. Starting at the bottom and turning things round is a better option than taking over a success and having to maintain it.
They really need to get the DIRA regulations changed though, its working far too much in favour of the competition now.
Having to take on anyone that wants to supply, whilst other companies can just set up in the best areas and cherry pick the suppliers it wants is killing them.
It means they have to keep upping capacity and finding more buyers for product.
Peak season they're often making products they don't really want to just to get rid of the milk.

Also don't forget having to sell milk to other processors below cost on the shoulders of the season.

 

[kiwi pom]

Also don't forget having to sell milk to other processors below cost on the shoulders of the season.

Yep, although its only for the first 3 years now so the likes of Synlait don't get it anymore.
Unless its changed in the last year.

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I think they canned that idea a couple of seasons back? Could be wrong.

Locally another processor has just gone up, and they will both be supplied by ex-Fonterra farms. (MVM and Danone)

Unfortunately Fonterra has just got a little bit too top-heavy, the way a farmer co-op always wants to head.... but they have dropped a few catches in my opinion, I can see why the daggers are out.

 

[kiwi pom]

I think they canned that idea a couple of seasons back? Could be wrong.

Locally another processor has just gone up, and they will both be supplied by ex-Fonterra farms. (MVM and Danone)

Unfortunately Fonterra has just got a little bit too top-heavy, the way a farmer co-op always wants to head.... but they have dropped a few catches in my opinion, I can see why the daggers are out.

My opinion is there's just too many middle managers and salaries that don't achieve any financial gain for the company.
Its all about department budgets and KPI's, too much knowledge walked out the door.
One of the things farmer/shareholders like is the way transport changed to pick up milk when THEY wanted. Its a good idea and probably works ok but its cost millions and made things way less efficient, but they voted for it.
Decisions like that all add up.

 

[jerseycowsman]

I think the entry point for someone that can turn things round is getting better with them announcing a big loss today. Starting at the bottom and turning things round is a better option than taking over a success and having to maintain it.
They really need to get the DIRA regulations changed though, its working far too much in favour of the competition now.
Having to take on anyone that wants to supply, whilst other companies can just set up in the best areas and cherry pick the suppliers it wants is killing them.
It means they have to keep upping capacity and finding more buyers for product.
Peak season they're often making products they don't really want to just to get rid of the milk.

Is that really what goes on?
Sounds the New Zealand authorities are doing their best to help undermine dairy farmers strength by undermining fonterra at every turn

 

[Kiwi Pete]

To a certain degree.

It's not so much an anti-Fonterra sentiment as an anti-monopoly sentiment - the telecommunications sector and electricity supply companies are treated similarly, in the respect that their services need to be "contestable and competitive".

Hence the Dairy Industry Restructuring Amendment would favour competitors, as do the efficiencies in certain respects

 

[kiwi pom]

Is that really what goes on?
Sounds the New Zealand authorities are doing their best to help undermine dairy farmers strength by undermining fonterra at every turn

The problem is Fonterra still gets treated differently to other processors, even though the others now have a considerable market share. It has to take milk from anyone wanting to supply within their collection area, so as everyone jumped on board when the milk price was high Fonterra had to keep building processing capacity.
Other processors can put in a plant in the centre of a milk field and take on enough supply to fill it and no more.
However if the regulations change I think there's going to be a lot of farmers in more remote areas getting very nervous. There's areas that cost a fortune to transport the milk from and with smaller factories that are not profitable that will probably be closed.
Obviously competitors wouldn't be interested with these farms either, so getting a contract could get tricky.
There's a lot of Fonterra haters out there.

 

[Irish NZ]

The problem is Fonterra still gets treated differently to other processors, even though the others now have a considerable market share. It has to take milk from anyone wanting to supply within their collection area,

Afaik the west coast is the only area outside the collection area. There is only a few dairy farms in the te anua basin that no one in their mind would collect milk from but fonterra is obliged to send a tanker out to.

 

[Irish NZ]

Don't underestimate how much the general public dislike fonterra. They don't understand the difference between a public owned company and farmer owned co-op. Some genuinely expect to get free milk and cheese etc but also don't expect free flights from air New Zealand which the government is a majority shareholder.

 

[kiwi pom]

Afaik the west coast is the only area outside the collection area. There is only a few dairy farms in the te anua basin that no one in their mind would collect milk from but fonterra is obliged to send a tanker out to.

Think they are going over there a bit now too as a few have moved from Westland.
Takaka is not easy to get too and if that factory got closed I don't know what the farmers would do IF Fonterra could drop them.
When they closed the Kaikoura factory the milk from around there now often has to be carted down to Darfield.