Fonterra 'keeping a close eye' on weather-affected farmers

Photo/ File

Content brought to you by Fonterra.

Extreme weather has been challenging for Fonterra farmers at both ends of the country, as they deal with droughts in the North Island and floods in the South Island.

The co-op's focus was on making sure its farmers and employees were safe, Fonterra's Managing Director of Co-operative Affairs, Mike Cronin told The Country Early Edition's Rowena Duncum.

Flooding in the south was affecting milk collection said Cronin.

"We're helping out Civil Defence, supporting the local communities, just with the number of road closures and floods ... milk collection has been disrupted, but we're trying to keep that to a minimum."

Listen below:

Some farms were cut off, which was creating a "pretty stressful" situation for farmers, so teams were working hard to "get in behind them" said Cronin.

Despite these issues the co-operative's milk collection was "pretty much on track with last season" due to good conditions in the south, before the flooding.

Cronin said Fonterra was also "keeping a close eye" on the situation in Northland, as he had heard NIWA was about to declare a drought in the region.

Also in today's interview: Cronin looked at global dairy production and how the coronavirus was affecting Fonterra.