Bad weather forces Fonterra to halt milk collection

NEW ZEALAND – Flooding in the lower half of New Zealand’s North Island has cut transport and gas links in the region, forcing Fonterra to halt milk collection and request farmers to empty milk from their vats.

Fonterra chairman Henry van der Heyden said on 17 February that up to 1,650 farms could be affected, but reassured farmers by saying that the company would still pay farmers forced to dispose of milk.

“The fact the road and rail links are closed means we can’t move the milk to other plants,” he said. “We have no option but to ask farmers to dispose of milk.” He went on to say that these were extremely unusual circumstances, and as such the company had agreed to pay farmers for any milk that had been in the vat for more than 72 hours.

Farmers have been urged to follow good practice manuals in order to minimise the environmental impact of dumping the milk.