Through most of the last 40 years, the dairy sector has been seen as the way to get rich, in stark contrast to the increasingly threatened red meat industry. The dairy industry was regarded as more fortunate than meat because during the 90s and the first part of the 21st century global demand for New Zealand’s dairy production grew strongly compared with our grassfed lamb and beef. Farmer-owned cooperatives were one structure favoured as an effective way of preventing overseas ownership of production facilities, although British companies Vesteys and Borthwicks controlled a substantial part of the North Island meat industry. This suggests the dairy industry’s latest rationalisation has started about 30 years later than the meat industry. The rest of the dairy industry concentrates on a narrow range of added value products, mainly directed towards food service, nutritional and consumer end uses.

Source: Stuff June 18, 2024 13:31 UTC