Our stories

In 2020, we entered a partnership with Sea Forest to see if using Asparagopsis seaweed as a supplement feed for dairy cows could reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This trial now enters its next phase including a new agreement allowing Fonterra farmers first access to this potential new seaweed solution.

A sustainable future for our business is core to our strategy, and we know that healthy freshwater, soil and ecosystems are essential to the long-term success of our business, farmers’ businesses, and to communities.

As part of Clean Up Australia Day – some of our employees and their families donned gloves and got to work picking up rubbish around the local Stanhope area – together they bagged a whopping 150kg of rubbish. That’s equivalent to 600 tubs of Perfect Italiano Ricotta.

Kirkstall couple Chloe and Rodney Brown are firmly on the path from farm leasing to ownership, working with Fonterra’s Farm Source Professional team to put a plan in place to reach their goal.

Dairy farmers are tackling the critical shortage of skilled labour at all levels in the industry with a program designed to support and inspire the next generation of farmers.

Our focus is on being a consumer-led and customer-driven business, which is why the voice of our customers is really important to us.

When it comes to thinking of your development, it can be daunting. We’re often so focused on the here and now, and our attention is rightfully on the job we’re doing today.

For Healthy Minds Month, we’re focussed on five ways to wellbeing – Give, Connect, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Be Active.

The past 12 months have been exceptionally challenging for people in need. Demand for food relief has gone up as people face financial pressures from COVID-19, recent floods as well as bushfires last year.

Western district farmer Harry Crabbe has turned his herd’s milk quality from millstone to milestone and is now recognised as one of the country's top 100 dairy producers, receiving the prestigious Dairy Australia Gold Diamond Award.

A generation ago, young people in country Victoria would have likely stayed on their parents' farms, taking the reins on running the day-to-day and eventually taking it over completely.

An opinion piece by René Dedoncker, Fonterra Australia Managing Director

Hard work, perseverance and the support of a good farming family have provided the keys to success for Yannathan dairy farmer Dean Turner on his journey from farm hand to lease farmer.

The 2018 St. Patrick’s Day fires were devastating to the farmers and communities in western Victoria, including 60 of Fonterra’s farmers.

Recognised as a trailblazer for women in dairy, Timboon dairy farmer Jan Raleigh is finally calling time on her remarkable career.

In an effort to help address the long-term challenge of attracting, retaining and developing people in the dairy industry, twelve young dairy farmers from across Victoria and Tasmania took part in the very first Proud to be a Dairy Farmer program last week

On farmland located on the northern edges of Warrnambool sits the new Merri River School. The special developmental school is not the only new thing the students get to enjoy – they’ve just received 10 new mountain bikes with funding from Fonterra.

When the primary cheese plant at our Stanhope factory in northern Victoria was destroyed by a fire in 2014, a major reconstruction project was required to fix it – meaning a considerable number of materials were needed, from fresh timber to new machinery and stainless-steel vats.

Diversity and inclusion go hand-in-hand and at Fonterra we care about being an inclusive and diverse place to work, where everyone can be themselves and be their best in everything they do.

This International Women’s Day, we’re running a series to celebrate three women in south-west Victoria who #ChooseToChallenge.

Purnim dairy farmer Lisa Dwyer is paving the way for greater diversity in the dairy industry and showing the next generation that there is more to dairy than milking cows.

Growing up on a dairy farm just outside Kyabram, Mark Mullins always knew he wanted to pursue a career in real estate over dairy farming. After five years as a successful real estate agent in Melbourne, he returned to Kyabram to help his dad sell the farm – and ended up taking it over instead.

On 16 December 2014, the Stanhope Fire Brigade were first on the scene when a fire destroyed the primary cheese plant at our Stanhope factory in northern Victoria, spending hours battling the blaze.

The foodservice sector in Australia has been one of the hardest Australian industries hit during COVID-19, with restaurants, pubs, and cafes in some states forced to close to patrons and swiftly adapt to rising demand for takeaway and home delivery.

We’ve taken home an impressive 47 gongs at the Dairy Industry Association of Australia (DIAA) Australian Dairy Product Awards.

In 1970, the Beatles split, flared jeans were in, and Adrian Wells rocked up to site for his first day on the job.

It’s no surprise that consumers are increasingly worried about immunity.

In a step towards a potential solution to dairy farm emissions, we’ve partnered with Sea Forest to see if using seaweed in cows’ feed can reduce greenhouse gasses.

While working from home has eliminated our commute and enabled us to spend more time with our families, for many of us it has been less than ideal for our waistlines.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, we rapidly responded to keep our people safe, our milk collections going and our products on supermarket shelves.

Right now, our people and our farmers are working hard to keep milk flowing and factories running to make sure dairy foods are making it to supermarket shelves – they’re doing their bit for Australia during COVID-19.

ProviCo Australia buys Fonterra’s Dennington site.

Recent torrential rains may have dampened many of Australia’s bushfires, but not before the efforts of some of our Aussie people and farmers volunteered with their local emergency services organisations to help. Meet a few of them below.

Out there in the universe, stars are born every day. But, closer to home in Cobden, Western Victoria, a star is born every second – Australia’s favourite butter, Western Star™.

All of us at Fonterra are saddened by the suffering being experienced by so many in our community. We’re thankful that our people and farmers are safe so far, and our thoughts are with those who have not been so lucky.

Workers at the now-closed factory at Fonterra Dennington have remembered and reminisced over a century of food production and friendships as they hang up their hair nets for the last time.

Families across Victoria’s south west in need of emergency food relief will now see fresh milk in their Warrnambool and District Food Share hampers, with the first donations made from Fonterra’s Cobden plant.

When we heard we could help families across Tasmania’s north-east be better connected to their community and to mental health support services – our people rallied together.

A win for the environment and for their business’ bottom-line, Randall and Erica Mair have halved the water used to clean their dairy.

The children at Wydinia Kindergarten and Early Learning Centre in Colac in western Victoria are solving the age-old question of what comes first – the chicken or the egg – with a new egg incubator and chicken coop bought with the help of the Fonterra Grass Roots Fund.

Our Stanhope and Wynyard cheese has again been recognised on the world stage, this time picking up three golds at the annual International Cheese and Dairy Awards, held in Nantwich, UK.

Plastic Free July may have been and gone, but this isn’t stopping a group of Gippsland residents from sewing up a storm to reduce single-use plastic bags in their local community.

Clouds, SNMPs, OSI models and IPs – sometimes working with technology can seem like a foreign language!

E-Jian Loh’s role requires her to be very creative – and to think outside the box.

Sarah Brosnan probably isn’t who you’d picture as a typical truck driver.

As one of Foodbank’s National Milk Program partners, Fonterra Australia was humbled to receive the 2019 Foodbank Award for our contribution to help fight hunger in Australia.

As one of Foodbank’s National Milk Program partners, Fonterra Australia was humbled to receive the 2019 Foodbank Award for our contribution to help fight hunger in Australia.

From Victoria’s leafy eastern suburb of Box Hill to the bright lights of Shanghai, 40 Melbourne Business School students went on an immersive research experience as part of this year’s Business in Asia Innovation Challenge.

We may need to make room on our trophy case, after picking up over 50 awards at this year’s Dairy Industry Association of Australia (DIAA) Australian and Victorian Dairy Product Awards.

From unearthing the next Shane Warne, Dean Jones or Cameron White at the Dennington Cricket Club to supporting budding architects and engineers at Ulverstone Primary School on Tasmania’s north coast, over 40 deserving community groups across Victoria and Tasmania will receive a leg-up from the latest round of funding from the Fonterra Grass Roots Fund.

Mother and daughter Julie and Sarah Fusinato share a passion for dairy, working together on the family farm before Sarah left Gippsland for Richmond, joining our business as a Farm Source Service Centre Specialist.

Last year, more than four million Australians experienced uncertainty around where their next meal was coming from.

Australians love our brands – Mainland, Perfect Italiano and Western Star – and it’s not just us saying it, they’re the most popular in their categories.

As one of Australia’s biggest dairy food companies, we recognise the important role we play in reducing the amount of waste our country sends to landfill.

A year is a long time in dairy. This time last year, we were in the midst of high milk growth, coming off the back of an exceptionally good season.

Darren Wilkinson, or ‘Dazza’ as our people of Fonterra’s Cobden site know him, has been a butter maker for 20 years. He’s no ordinary butter maker though, he’s a champion butter maker – and it’s not just us saying that, it’s been confirmed – nine times over in fact!

For the 20th-year, 32 apprentice chefs from all over Australia have participated in a truly life-changing experience – Fonterra’s Proud to be a Chef mentoring program.

A new ultra-light tanker will soon join the Bostock Creek CFA’s fire-fighting fleet, thanks to a contribution from Fonterra and a grant from the Victorian Government.

On Saturday, our Cobden site played host to around 100 kids as it opened its doors to the families of our staff.

Western Star, Australia’s favourite butter, has been judged Australia’s Champion Butter for a seventh time at the Dairy Australia Grand Dairy Awards 2019 – an awards program that recognises the ‘best of the best’ dairy produce made from Australian milk.

Workplaces can be bustling places at the best of times, but Fonterra Australia’s Corporate Centre took it to a new level recently with 75 kids descending on the office for the first official Bring Your Kids to Work Day.

Diversity might not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of truck drivers, however our Tasmanian Farm Milk Collection team is shaking up the traditional image of its drivers with a crew that comes from all walks of life.

When we combine 11 years, 2.5 million kilos of dairy food and our Co-operative spirit – we can help combat hunger in Australia and reduce food waste.

Young minds in West Gippsland will be nurtured for generations to come, thanks to the donation of more than 100 children’s books from the Fonterra Grass Roots Fund.

Eight cuddly koalas currently recovering from illness willsoon have new homes, thanks to the Fonterra Stanhope team.

When most people think about dairy, their first thought may be that it is a source of calcium, and that it’s good for strong bones.

In remnants of ancient rainforest near Darnum, where magnificent Mountain Ash trees tower above fern gullies and streams and lyrebirds roam, what lies beneath the earth is quite incredible.

In today’s marketplace, it’s important to listen to the consumer. Holding the number one position in butter and spreads, and having made a tough decision to divest our yoghurts and dairy desserts business, we know this better than most.

Fonterra’s growing Stanhope cheese plant has just reached another key milestone this month. Large pieces of cheese making equipment recently arrived at site and were put into place by a nearly 200-strong team of contractors.

Our Proud to Be a Chef program is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and culinary apprentices from all over Australia will once again have the chance to participate in a life-changing experience.

These are the most important tech trends shaping agriculture, both today and into the future.

Leon McLaren has seen it all during his 30-plus-year career as a Farm Milk Collection Operator.

We live in a world of unlimited possibilities – for people, our business, and our country. But this world of change is a challenge too.

An international carbon fee based on fossil fuel emissions is ‘crucial but not enough’ to reduce global warming according to James Hansen, the NASA scientist who first raised concerns 30 years ago.

Fonterra staff traded spreadsheets for spatulas, heading into the kitchen to bake treats for 60 family members staying at Ronald McDonald House in Parkville, Victoria, while their children undergo life-saving treatment.

Fonterra Australia has taken home 48 gongs from the 2018 Dairy Industry Association of Australia (DIAA) Australian and Victorian Dairy Product Awards at an awards ceremony held in Melbourne on Friday night.

The youth of the 1st Drouin Scouts will be sleeping under the stars as they learn essential life skills with the support of the Fonterra Grass Roots Fund.

From surf life saving clubs to primary schools, from scout groups to sporting clubs, and even the local fire brigade, the Fonterra Grass Roots Fund has given a raft of Tasmanian community initiatives a helping hand this year.

The true devastation caused by the fires in southwest Victoria is only just becoming apparent now all bushfires are under control, although peat fires continue to affect the wider community closing the local retirement home and schools.

Twenty years after quality Tasmanian dairy product first rolled off the line, Fonterra’s Spreyton site has celebrated two decades of operation.

Fonterra has opened the doors of its newly rebuilt cheese plant to bring the community inside, as part of a legendairy Community Open Day held yesterday.

The community of Stanhope can see their legacy in town after an enormous photo mural has been unveiled on the northern wall of Fonterra’s new cheese plant as final touches are made to prepare for the site’s official opening and community celebrations.

This week marks twenty years since Fonterra’s Darnum plant first fired up its milk dryers for production.

The Cobden Primary School now have the blocks to build bright futures, after receiving a grant from the Fonterra Grass Roots Fund.

Teaching kids about healthy lifestyles and sustainable practices just got a whole lot easier for Kyabram and Girgarre Preschool, who have just received a grant from the Fonterra Grass Roots Fund.

Fonterra Australia is on a mission to collect thousands of photographs in the next three months to create a massive photo mosaic wall mural at the entrance to its new Stanhope cheese plant designed to “wear our pride on our side”.

Santa Claus got a head start on his deliveries this year, stopping by South West Healthcare’s Warrnambool Base Hospital to deliver gifts and Christmas cheer.

The Devonport Little Athletics Club is reminding other community groups in the area to take the opportunity to apply for Fonterra’s Grass Roots Fund by 16th December.

The Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club is reminding other community groups in the area to take the opportunity to apply for Fonterra’s Grass Roots Fund by 16th December.

Fonterra’s Western Star salted butter has been selected as a finalist in the butter category of the 2017 Australian Grand Dairy Award, and is the running to be named Champion butter.

Around 65 Cobden Primary School kids donned on their safety glasses and high vis vests this month, for a tour of our Cobden factory – the home of Western Star.