Nestlé visit highlights power of partnership
Earlier this year, Fonterra hosted Nestlé’s global team on farm in New Zealand for a firsthand look at how at our sustainability initiatives are delivering progress.
The Co-operative announced its partnership with Nestlé in December 2022 to support farmers to reduce emissions. Since it began, the partnership has included multiple projects including customer incentives and the Net Zero Pilot Dairy Farm.
The first stop on the tour was Kathryn Maxwell’s farm in North Waikato, where the farm has used customer funding to adopt Aimer, an AI-powered farm planning tool, to improve feed efficiency and grow more home-grown feed.
Maxwell says it’s important that Nestlé is part of Fonterra’s sustainability journey.
“They understand the steps we can make to reduce emissions, and their support helps reduce some of the risk of trying new technologies,” she says.
While in the Waikato, Nestlé saw a demonstration of EcoPond, an effluent treatment that can reduce methane emissions from effluent ponds by up to 90%. A pilot of EcoPond is currently underway in Waikato and Southland to trial the scalability and effectiveness of the service, with funding coming from the Co-op and customer incentives.
Our farmer owners’ openness, innovation and commitment to trying new solutions to help drive efficiencies and emissions reductions on farm is what makes partnerships like this work.
Fonterra Director of Sustainability Charlotte Rutherford says nothing beats getting out on farm to talk to farmer shareholders.
“Our farmer owners’ openness, innovation and commitment to trying new solutions to help drive efficiencies and emissions reductions on farm is what makes partnerships like this work.”
Nestlé Chief Executive New Zealand Susan Catania says being on farm brings the partnership to life.
“Food, or kai, is at the heart of our business and dairy sits right at the centre of that. Because of that, we have a huge responsibility to source dairy sustainably.”
“We’re committed to working with farmers, with suppliers on the ground, to improve any impact we have on emissions,” says Catania.
The visit also took the team to Taranaki to visit the Net Zero Pilot Dairy Farm, which is trialling different tools and approaches to reduce emissions to net zero over ten years, while remaining profitable.
For Catania, the message to Fonterra farmers is one of thanks.
“For us it’s about collaboration, from suppliers, from manufacturers, and from farmers. Thank you for the ingenuity and leaning into this partnership, we’re really grateful.”