Federated Farmers offers assistance to Korda Mentha

Dairy remains a vibrant progressive industry, despite the receivership today of four Crafar controlled entities involving 20 dairy farms.

“While today has seen an unprecedented receivership in the industry, it doesn’t detract from dairy as being New Zealand’s largest and most progressive industry,” says Lachlan McKenzie, Federated Farmers Dairy chairperson.

“Federated Farmers believes it important to distinguish between the Crafar corporate structure and the individual farms wrapped up in that corporate structure.

“It’s not like a building site where the workers just leave the site partially completed. These 20 farms are viable individual businesses.

“The priority of Federated Farmers is to the welfare of farm animals and to those people connected to the farms involved. I understand the Crafar’s are fully cooperating with the receivers, Korda Mentha.

“Federated Farmers has made its assistance available to Korda Mentha, if they require it.

“Korda Mentha have access to skilled farm advisers and farm managers and we believe they understand the ordinary driver in this extraordinary event - keeping these farms running as normally as possible.

“Tomorrow the sun will rise and the dairy cows on these 20 farms will be milked along with millions of other cows on thousands of dairy farms throughout New Zealand. That milk will be collected and then processed into high value exports helping New Zealand pay its way in the world. That’s the essential truth from what has been a very tough day for everyone involved,” Mr McKenzie concluded.