Fonterra's board will have reason for cautious optimism when it meets tomorrow to review its farmgate milk price forecast for 2014/15.

Dairy prices posted their fifth consecutive gain at this morning’s GlobalDairyTrade auction.

Fonterra Co-operative Group has commissioned a new dairy ingredients plant in Heerenveen, in the north of the Netherlands, its first wholly-owned and operated ingredients plant in Europe.

Economic reform in China, one of New Zealand's largest trading partners accounting for 22 per cent of exports, is a lower priority than trying to save the Communist Party, according to Wall Street....

Dairy prices spiked higher at this morning's GlobalDairyTrade (GDT) auction, the GDT price index gaining 9.4 per cent since the last sale on January 21.

Reduced dairy production is expected to translate into higher prices at Wednesday's GlobalDairyTrade auction.

Spark New Zealand director Maury Leyland will resign from the telecommunications company's board from the end of next month.

Prices continued to improve at this morning’s GlobalDairyTrade auction, the GDT price index gaining 1 per cent since the last sale a fortnight ago.

Falling milk powder prices have hit consumers' economic confidence in the key dairy regions of Southland and the Waikato, says Westpac.

Dairy farmers were offered a respite from what has so far been a dismal season for prices after the GlobalDairyTrade index gained 3.6 per cent at the first auction for 2015.

Dairy prices mostly improved at this morning’s GlobalDairyTrade auction, the GDT price index gaining 2.4 per cent.

The Fonterra Shareholders Council is "broadly supportive" of plans for the co-operative to start sourcing milk from South Island suppliers who are not also shareholders.

A $6 billion drop in dairy farmers' incomes this season is a blow to the wider economy, no question, writes Brian Fallow. But it's not all bad.

Fonterra has moved to shore up its supply base by forming a subsidiary that can take in more milk without suppliers having to buy shares in the co-operative.

The medium to long term outlook for NZ dairy farmers remains sound, despite yesterday's payout cut, says rural lender Rabobank.

Fonterra said it had launched a separate milk sourcing subsidiary - mymilk - to grow its market share in the South Island.

Fonterra plans to cut costs and defer some capital expenditure so that an improved dividend can at least partially offset a likely $6b decline in income for the sector.

The industry group DairyNZ estimates that one quarter of dairy farmers will have difficulty paying their bills if Fonterra's reduced farmgate milk price comes to pass.

Fonterra has this morning cut its forecast farmgate milk price payout to its farmers, with its chairman admitted it'll put pressure on farm budgets.

Neither Fonterra nor the Ministry for Primary Industries emerged unscathed in the final report on the botulism scare that rocked the New Zealand dairy industry last year.

There is one salient comment in the report by Queens Counsel Miriam Dean into the WPC80 incident that ought to give Fonterra's directors and shareholders cause for concern: "A company that is....