• Today & Tomorrow

Today & Tomorrow

The strength of our Co-operative – our scale, innovation, profitability, and sustainability – is here to help make you better off, both now and into the future.

We believe that New Zealand milk is the most valuable milk in the world. Our strategy is to differentiate our Co-op’s milk to earn a premium. But we’re also focused on helping our farmers to drive more value from every drop of milk produced – whether that’s through services to improve efficiency, or through exclusive rewards and discounts.

Give one of our Business Development Managers a call to talk about how we might be able to help you.

Investment & Options

Our entire strategy is built around getting the best value for farmers. Farmers who belong to Fonterra ensure they’re paid a fair price for their milk for the long-term.

Our Farmgate Milk Price sets the benchmark from which most other companies set their price. It’s the maximum sustainable price we can pay and the method we use to calculate it is transparent. Our healthy balance sheet means we can return more value back to farmers through dividend payments.

We’ve also made some changes based on what farmers want to see from us – we increased our Advance Rate for FY24 to 75% to get cash to farmers sooner. And we have made it easier to join the Co-op, or stay, with greater investment flexibility.

      

"The advantage of the co-op is that it doesn't have to make that trade-off between the shareholders and the milk suppliers, those interests, because the shareholders and the milk suppliers are fundamentally the same entities."

George Moss
Waikato farmer

"Fonterra sets the milk price based on a reliable model, so a strong Fonterra is good for all NZ dairy farmers."

Chris Luxford
Waikato farmer
Tools & Support

Our farmers have access to support, services, and tools to view and compare key business data, making it easier to manage efficient milk production on farm. And we have a range of experts on hand to support with any challenges faced.

Across our deferred terms savings, services discounts, and rewards dollars earned, some Fonterra farmers have saved up to 10 cents per kgMS by shopping through Farm Source.

For example:

  • Personalised Farm Insights Report, with insights on farm performance.
  • Milk Quality Experts, Sustainable Dairying Advisors, On Farm Excellence vet team.
  • Agronomy and cropping advice from Technical Sales Reps (TSRs).
  • Farm Environment Plans.
  • Exclusive deals and discounts, including interest free deferred terms, at our Farm Source stores.
  • Co-op deals and discounts on fuel, energy and more (including up to 21 cents off each litre of petrol at Mobil).
  • Rewards dollars, that can be redeemed on pretty much anything you can dream of.
      

"Whenever disaster strikes, like floods, the Fonterra teams are really quick to jump in and help, and while our kids aren’t at school yet, we know the local one is involved in the KickStart Breakfast programme which is a great initiative."

Brett Steeghs
Waikato farmer

"Our TSR was pretty good, he comes and does soil tests and all that stuff. We know him pretty well, and he knows the farm."

Chris Luxford
Waikato farmer

"99% of the time we will shop through our Farm Source store and earn Reward Dollars. We use the dollars for Christmas and birthdays, which is always handy, and all those other little extra things."

Jodie Goudswaard
Waikato farmer
Our Strategy

Having a strong Kiwi-owned Co-operative in our dairy industry benefits generations of farmers, today and in the long term.

The highest quality sustainable milk helps unlock global market access, revenue and sustainable returns. So, we’re investing more than ever in product innovation to add as much value as we can to our farmers’ milk.

Plus, Fonterra’s scale reduces risk and provides value to you, our customers, and New Zealand. We have had another year of strong financial results, off the back of favourable ingredients margins.

Being part of our Co-op:

  • A strategic focus on New Zealand milk, sustainability and innovation, which will see us shift every aspect of our business to create more value.
  • Value targets by 2030: average Farmgate Milk Price range for the decade of $6.50-$7.50 per kgMS.
  • Profits come back to New Zealand.
  • Recognition of sustainable practices on farm through The Co-operative Difference milk payment parameter.
      

"Just knowing that somebody is collecting the milk up, and they're going to do their darndest to maximise the return on that milk, is a real piece of mind."

George Moss
Waikato farmer

"The strategy seems to make a lot of sense too. Farmers want to know where the money is being spent and that every drop of milk is being used to generate returns."

Brett Steeghs
Wiakato farmer