Westland Milk Products' new chief executive faces his first challenge next month a meeting with farmers to discuss the company's falling payout. Rod Quin has started his tenure in challenging times, with the payout predicted to be as low as $4.10 a kilogram of milk solids, compared with a previous forecast of up to $5.60. The first of the meetings will be held in early June reports The Dom Post. "Obviously, I need to meet the farmers," he said."They are interested in what the payout will be for the year, and we will make some statements about what we will be looking at in coming seasons." Quin began work just after Easter, following his appointment to replace Scott Eglinton, who died suddenly in July. The latest forecast is a sharp drop from the bumper 2008 payout of more than $7. "The international price for dairy ingredients has fallen, and Westland has taken the brunt of the price falls. We hope they have bottomed out," Quin said. Recovery could take a long time due to "protectionist" subsidies and stockpiling by competing economies. "In the immediate term, how do we maximise payout for the months remaining? We've got to be doing all the things we should, and have inventories to a minimum by the end of the year. "We have got to look at the balance sheet and see where we can make additional payout available and look at operating costs across the business," he said. In the long-term, the company needed to see how it could get more from its assets and look at ways to compete in the market. He expected to continue plans to convert Westland's herds to produce only A2 milk over the next 10 years. Quin, 40, was previously global account director with Fonterra, and said he looked forward to working with West Coast farmers. A key motivator for me (to take the job) was the opportunity to run a business in New Zealand and bring all the skills and experience I have learned offshore back home," he said. "(Coasters) are like farmers NZ over, they expect performance, they have got a business to run and they expect to know what's going on. "
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