Publications - Dairy

This page contains links to key articles relating to the reform of the NZ dairy industry between 1999 and 2009

2009

By others:

• NZ Herald – Editorial – “Dairy industry too important to be stifled” - 11 Sept 09

  “The country is having cause to rue the previous Government's decision to leave dairy exporting under the control of a farmers' co-operative”

• National Radio – “Dairy Fortunes” – by Radio NZ Economics Correspondent, Nigel Stirling, 16 Aug 09

  A half documentary on Sunday, Insight which explores the turn-around in the dairy industry which has seen boom turn in to gloom. Tony Baldwin is interviewed [podcast available here]

• NZ Herald – "Fonterra’s Plan Critical For Farmer’s Future"
  1 August 2009, by Brain Gaynor
• DomPost – "Fonterra’s value-add goal 'lacks evidence'"
  15 January 2009, by Andrew Janes

2008

By Tony Baldwin:

• TV3 News – short interview in relation to Synlait – 22 Aug 08

2007

By Tony Baldwin:

• Presentation to Agrivision Group - “Fonterra: Capital Issues”
  15 March 2007
• Presentation to Global Corporate Governance Forum in London - “Renewal of Co-operatives – Traditional to New Generation” 8 February 2007

By others:

• Dompost and Press – “Fonterra plan makes odd allies”
  3 Nov 07, by Andrew Janes
• NZ Herald – “Fonterra names date for shake up plan”
  2 Nov 07
• NZ Herald – “Cooperative should stay if Fonterra gains listing”
  18 Sept 07, by Owen Hembry
• NZ Herald – “Fonterra must list to solve problems”
  17 Sept 07, by Owen Hembry
• NZ Herald – “$4b pie from floated Fonterra brands”
  13 Sept 07, by Owen Hembry
• Dompost – “Fonterra listing plan bold but tough”
  12 September 2007, by Andrew Janes
• Dompost and Press – “Milk ‘n’ money go hand in hand”
  14 July 2007, by Andrew Janes
• NZ Herald – “Fonterra goes cool on another milk run”
  2 June 2007
• Dompost – “Up in the Air”
  12 May 2007, by Andrew Janes
• Dompost – “Fonterra sees land of milk and honey”
  9 April 2007, by Andrew Janes
• NZ Herald – “Fonterra’s four step plan to stay ahead of the world”
  9 April 07, by Henry van der Heyden
• NZ Herald – “Fonterra nicely set to see off tougher competition”
  1 April 07, by Fran O’Sullivan
• NZ Herald – “Norgate's view - Milk it for all it's worth”
  1 April 07, by Stephen Ward

2006

By others:

• "Corporate governance in agricultural co-operatives"
  Jan 06 – Report by Tom Mason, 2005 Nuffield Scholar
• "Ruminations over the changing international landscape for dairying"
  June 06 – Paper by Hon John Luxton
• DomPost - "Fonterra lashed by impatient farmers"
  11 September 2006, by Andrew Janes
• DomPost - "Fonterra, Failing to deliver"
  7 Oct 06, by Andrew Janes
• NZ Herald - "Float debate goes to the heart of Fonterra"
  16 December 2006
• The Press - "International examples"
  16 December 2006, by Andrew Janes
• Taranaki Daily News - "Farmers' rumble of discontent becoming a roar"
  16 December 2006
• NZ Herald - "Dairy Equity hoping for Fonterra share float"
  18 December 2006
• Taranaki Daily News - "Farmers fear Fonterra listing"
  18 December 2006, by Krysti Wetton
• Waikato Times - "Listing talk leaves farmers uneasy"
  18 December 2006, by Chris Gardner
• Waikato Times - "Market eager for Fonterra listing"
  19 December 2006
• Southland Times - "Fonterra scepticism"
  20 December 2006, by Juliet Larkin
• Taranaki Daily News - "Let's hope it's a cunning plan"
  21 December 2006, by John Cooper
  
• Christchurch Press - "Co-op fails to add value"
  29 December 2006, by Andrew Janes

2005

By Tony Baldwin:

• DomPost - "Fonterra, a consumer strategy?"
  14 Feb 05
• Reply to Mr Jonkers' letter to 'The Dairyman' editor
  Feb 05 [see letter below]
• DomPost - "Synlait the saviour?"
  2 May 05
• "Kerry Group (Ireland)", 2005

By others:

• Television One ‘Business’ – “Fonterra extends takeover offer” (for National Foods)
  7 Feb 2005 [video format]
• Television One ‘Business’ – “New twist in dairy battle” (for National Foods)
  9 Feb 2005 [video format]
• The Dairyman - Article on Fonterra's bid for National Foods
  Feb 05
• Letter from Mr Jonkers to the editor of 'The Dairyman'
  Feb 05 [see Tony's reply above]
• DomPost - "Dairy venture to take on Fonterra"
  15 April 05
• "Cooperatives going public: motives, ownership, and performance"
  September 2005, by Jos Bijman and Onno van Bekkum
• Rural News - "Punches keep flying in dairy dispute"
  2 Nov 05
  

2004

By Tony Baldwin:

• Rural News - Questions for Fonterra director candidates
  15 April 04
• Presentation to Intelact's Conference - Overview of Dairy Industry
  22 June 04. This is a reasonably substantial compilation of material. It provides a useful overview of the dairy industry, and the challenges facing Fonterra.
• NZ Herald - "Fonterra must hasten its capital overhaul"
  18 Oct 04
• Country Wide and Taranaki Daily News - Article on Fonterra's capital structure
  21 Oct 04
• Reply to Graham Stuart's article in the Taranaki Daily News of 28 Oct 04 (see below). Graham is Fonterra's Group Director of Strategy and Growth
• Dompost- Fonterra - "Co-op that would be capital investor"
  13 Nov 04
  

By others:

• Rural News - "Higher share value may prompt exodus"
  1 June 04
• Infometrics – “Dairy Industry Dicing with Disaster”
  21 July 2004, by Gareth Morgan
• Phil Barry - "Which way Fonterra?"
  Aug 04
• Rural News - "Can Khosla fix New Zealand Milk?"
  15 Sept 04
• Taranaki Daily News - "Co-operative way to grow capital"
  28 Oct 04, by Graham Stuart of Fonterra [see Tony's reply above]
• Rod Thomson, "Security blanket or straightjacket"
  Oct 04
• NZ Herald - "Fonterra facing scary questions"
  6 Nov 04, by Brian Gaynor
• DomPost - "Fonterra proposes big milk shake"
  11 Dec 2004, by Bernard Hickey
• NZ Herald, "Fonterra goes through hoop"
  11 Dec 04, by Richard Inder
  

2003

By Tony Baldwin:

• Christchurch Press, "Crunch time looms for Fonterra leadership"
  26 April 03
• Farmnet - Exchange of views with Farmnet's editor
  May 03
• Presentation to Intelact's Conference - Review of industry's history
  9 June 03. This is a reasonably detailed review of the regulatory regimes in NZ under which the dairy industry has operated, and helps to explain the current regulatory and cultural environment.
• NZ Herald - "Old attitudes keep Fonterra penned in"
  18 Dec 03

By others:

• NZ Herald - "Fonterra's focus 76 years late"
  21 Feb 03
• Unlimited - Article on Tatua: "Tough Cheese"
  1 April 03, By Rebecca Macfie
  

2002

By Tony Baldwin:

• NZ Herald - "Fonterra smacks of paralysis"
  24 Jan 02
• Waikato Times - "Fonterra needs to open its eyes"
  13 Feb 02
• NBR - "Fonterra reveals high cost of emotion triumphing over reason"
  15 Feb 02
• Country Wide - Assessment of Fonterra's first year
  April 02
• Rural News - Assessment of Fonterra's performance after 12 months
  April 02
• NBR - "Forget the spin, show shareholders the money"
  12 April 02
• Wellington Evening Post - Assessment of Fonterra's first year
  15 April 02. This is the same as the article in the Rural News of April 02 above
• Fonterra Shareholder Council - Report for Graeme Edwards
  May 02
• Waikato Times - "Top directors vital for Fonterra's future"
  7 May 02
• Rural News - "Fonterra rolls out election roadshow"
  21 May 02. This is a shortened version of the Waikato Times article of 7 May 02 above.
• NZ Herald - "Let's forget the politics and elect board members on merit"
  24 June 02
• NZ Herald - "Industry too fond of shooting the messenger"
  24 June 02
• Radio NZ - Interview with Linda Clark
  13 Sept 02
• Rural News - "Dairy giant slow to deliver"
  17 Sept 02
• The Independent - "Fonterra's first year - bad judgements, blurred boundaries"
  2 Oct 02. This article is similar to the Country Wide article of April 02 above.
• NZ Herald - "Change the date and ... a Fonterra new strategy"
  8 Nov 02

By others:

• Unlimited - "The Fonterra Way"
  1 March 02, by Vincent Heeringa
• Waikato Times - "Fonterra spending farmers' money"
  2 April 02
• Unlimited - "The gospel according to McKinsey"
  1 July 02, by Rebecca Macfie [award winning article]
• Rural News - "Director debate on"
  11 July 02
• Unlimited - "Fonterra's near future"
  1 Oct 02, by Fiona Rotherham
• NBR - "Fonterra could be forced to float NZ Milk"
  4 October 02
• Country Wide - "Shift of power and cost cuts for Fonterra"
  1 Nov 02

2001

By Tony Baldwin:

• "Global Co is an expensive mistake"
  10 March 2001
• The Independent - An analysis of the Global Co proposal
  21 March 2001
• NZ Herald - "Fear dogs dairy industry"
  3 April 2001
• Southland Times - "Saying no to the merger"
  16 June 2001
• Handbook for farmers
  June 2001
• Summary of Government's regulatory package
  June 2001
• Global Co 2001 compared to Mega Co-op 1999
  June 2001
• Preferred alternative to 2001 merger
  June 2001
• History of Government involvement in the dairy industry
  June 2001
• Current characteristics of NZ dairy industry
  June 2001
• Expert views on market power claims
  June 2001
• Critical mass arguments
  June 2001
• Overview of co-operatives
  June 2001

By others:

• Infometrics - "A Trojan Horse for Priviledge"
  14 Feb 2001, by Gareth Morgan
• Letter from John Fernyhough and Brian Allison to PM
  31 March 2001
• NZ Herald - "Going global for fresh start"
  By Alex Sundakov, 5 April 2001
• Infometrics - "Rarity: An economist batting for Global Co"
  11 April 2001, by Gareth Morgan
• Daily News - "Mega merger: Farmers face big risk with Global Co"
  10 May 2001
• Infometrics - "Knackering NZ's Nokia"
  23 May 2001, by Gareth Morgan
• Southland Times - "High-flyers target dairy mega-merger"
  4 June 2001
• The Daily News - "Opponents of dairy merger to campaign"
  5 June 2001
• Evening Standard - "Merger enemies act"
  5 June 2001
• The Independent - "Last ditch effort to derail dairy mega merger"
  6 June 2001
• Sunday Star Times - "Farmer vote on giant dairy merger too close to call"
  17 June 2001
• Stuff - "Legal row threatens merger decision"
  18 June 01
• Infometrics - "Global Bro, Guaranteed Economic Waste"
  19 June 2001, by Gareth Morgan

1999

By others:

• NZ Herald - "Inaction frustrates producer boards"
  22 February 1999, by Philippa Stevenson
• "Organisational models for agricultural co-operatives: A comparative analysis of the Irish dairy industry", May 1999, Patrik Gunnarsson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
• "The Future of Co-ops - A Corporate Perspective"
  June 1999, Prof Bengt Holmstrom
• NZ Herald - "Intriguing tale of two kiwi industries"
  16 July 1999, by Rod Oram
• Presentation to Select Committee on Proposal
  27 July 1999, by Dairy Industry Leaders
• Presentation to Select Committee on Structure
  10 August 1999, by Dairy Industry Leaders
  

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