Listen: Fonterra in 'good hands' with John Monaghan

Fonterra's new chairman John Monaghan. Photo / Bruce Jarvis

It has been a busy time for Fonterra with chairman John Wilson stepping down last week after a serious health scare.

Fonterra's Head of Farm Source for Otago/Southland Mark Robinson spoke to The Country Early Edition's Rowena Duncum about the news.

"[We were all] really sad to hear of John's resignation last week," says Robinson, "but he was really clear that if he couldn't put 100 per cent into the co-op then it wasn't appropriate for him to continue ... we're all wishing him a speedy and healthy recovery."

Listen below:

Fonterra has appointed John Monaghan as the interim chairman and Robinson says this shows "that there's a lot of strength around the board table."

"John Monaghan's got vast experience, not just as a farmer but also as a director and that just means the co-op's in really good hands."

Robinson says the next two big focuses for Monaghan's will be the appointment of Fonterra's new CEO and the review of the Diary Industry Restructure Act (DIRA).

Also in today's interview: Mark Robinson talks about how Sustainable Dairying Records help Fonterra sell milk and gives the highlights of the co-op's Global Dairy Update.