Fonterra says refusal to collect Crafars' milk one option (Update 1)

Fonterra said it may refuse to collect milk from New Zealand's biggest privately dairy farming group, Crafar Farms, if the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) proved any allegations of animal abuse and the farming group refused to fix the situation. (Updated with full responses to earlier questions at bottom of article) Fonterra Chairman Henry van der Heyden said animal cruelty would not be tolerated. "If any case of deliberate mistreatment of animals is proven by the authorities and appropriate remedial action is not taken, Fonterra will not hesitate to take the strongest action, including refusal to collect milk," van der Heyden said in a statement. His comments follow the video embedded at interest.co.nz and played on Close Up that showed Crafar Farms allowing calves to starve to death because of bad management. Van der Heyden said the majority of our farmers were "good environmental stewards of the land they farm and care for the welfare of the cows that together earn their livelihood." "I know I speak for our farmers in saying we have zero tolerance for mistreatment of livestock," he said. "Those pictures were absolutely unacceptable to me as a dairy farmer and I know I speak overwhelmingly for Fonterra's many thousands of farmer suppliers who would be equally appalled by such scenes. If they are a fair presentation of what occurred, then the authorities must mount a full investigation to establish the facts."

Van der Heyden however stressed Fonterra was not judge and jury and would only act if a prosecution was proven. "I am told the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is investigating the alleged mistreatment of bobby calves and we must await the outcome of that investigation," he said. If a prosecution was proven then Fonterra had its own penalties and sanctions including, if remedial action was not taken, refusal to collect milk from an offending supplier, he said. Earlier I asked Fonterra a series of questions. Here are its full responses. Questions for Fonterra plus some responses I sent the following questions to Fonterra on Monday evening. It responded on Tuesday afternoon. Here are the full answers.

1. Did Fonterra know or suspect any animal neglect in the Crafar Farms group? No responsible farmer would sanction the behaviour that is alleged. Regardless of difficulties on farm, there is ample help available through Dairy NZ and Federated Farmers when animal welfare or other problems arise on farm. That help should be sought whenever a farmer has issues with animal welfare. Fonterra fully supports the actions taken by MAF and its ongoing investigation. We were advised by MAF of this incident on Friday. That was the first indication received of the alleged animal neglect. 2. Why was Allan Crafar 'kicked off' the Fonterra Shareholders Council in 2007? Allan Crafar made the decision to retire from the council in 2007 3. Why has Fonterra continued to collect Crafar's milk knowing of his dirty dairying and his 2006 animal neglect convictions? Rules governing farming activities and their impact on the environment are laid down under the Resource Management Act and in various regional plans. Policing them is the role of regional councils. Animal welfare is policed and enforced by MAF. In both areas, councils and MAF pursue court actions when farmers flout the law. Calls for Fonterra to refuse to collect milk are effectively calls for Fonterra to be police, judge, jury and jailer. They are calls to re-prosecute any shareholder who has already been convicted and punished. Fonterra will refuse to collect milk if any shareholder takes no remedial action after the courts have entered a prosecution. The key point here is "no remedial action". There was a prosecution of a Crafar employee in 2006. Remedial action was taken by the Crafar group. Extensive environmental remedial work has also been undertaken at Crafar properties. Fonterra currently has no grounds to create a further environmental and animal welfare issue by refusing to collect milk when cows are in peak production. If the facts of this case are proven, a prosecution follows and there is no remedial action taken, then Fonterra can refuse to collect milk. In summary, Fonterra is not the appropriate body to punish people for environmental or animal welfare issues. We have no right to take action until the proper authorities have taken action. There are proper authorities for this. However, where authorities require action to be taken and this is not done, Fonterra will then refuse to collect milk. 4. Has Fonterra ever considered not collecting the Crafar's milk or demanding they relinquish ownership/management of those farms? Fonterra has considered non-collection. That sanction was not justified given the Crafars had taken remedial action following prosecutions. Fonterra cannot demand shareholders sell farms or direct business decisions made by shareholders as the business owners. 5. What is Fonterra's response to the Crafar farms video shown on our site today? Those pictures were absolutely unacceptable. We speak overwhelmingly for Fonterra's many thousands of farmer suppliers who would be equally appalled by such scenes. If they are a fair presentation of what occurred, then the authorities must mount a full investigation to establish the facts. We understand that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is investigating the alleged mistreatment of bobby calves and we must await the outcome of that investigation. MAF is the proper authority to be dealing with this. If a prosecution is taken and the case proven then Fonterra has its own penalties and sanctions including, if remedial action is not taken, refusal to collect milk from an offending supplier. 6. Could this damage Fonterra's reputation for producing 'clean, green, 100% pure' milk products? Any behavior of this sort undermines the reputation of the dairy industry and particularly the 10,000 or more Fonterra farmers who are acting responsibly. 7. Is there a risk Fonterra's competitors could pounce on this to discredit Fonterra's reputation in Europe in particular? There is that risk, but we would expect other members of the dairy industry internationally to recognise that while these actions are totally unacceptable, they are not representative of the New Zealand dairy industry as a whole and not something that is acceptable to Fonterra or its suppliers. 8. Does Fonterra have a policy on when it will refuse to collect milk from producers that damage the environment or neglect their animals? Yes. We will refuse to collect milk when there has been a successful prosecution and no remedial action has been taken by the shareholders. Action was taken this year in Australia with a contract supplier because of animal welfare charges. Supply has since resumed with the farm under new management and meeting strict conditions. 9. Has Fonterra ever refused milk because of poor quality? Yes we have refused supply when milk has tested for high somatic cell counts or bacterial counts. 10. What proportion of Fonterra's supply comes from Crafar Farms? Fonterra collects around 14 billion litres of milk a year. Crafar Farms represents a tiny proportion of our overall supply.