Manaia farmer Ben Johnston comes from a proud farming family, and over the past 12 years has spent his time developing and growing an equity partnership within a family-owned farming business.
Over that time, Ben has seen both sides of the fence - having supplied both Fonterra and Open Country. Initially the partnership he's part of were Fonterra suppliers, but in 2017 they decided to switch to Open Country as Fonterra was taking a path they disagreed with.
But after five years with Open Country, the group decided to return to Fonterra.
"We liked the new direction the board was taking, and the new farmer-focused technology being introduced. Fonterra was also supplying a better milk price at year's end," said Ben. "Yes, Fonterra is asking the hard questions about compliance. But it ensures our farmers don't fall behind the times. Being with a milk company that wasn't worried about on-farm compliance was nice. But it was also scary to think maybe my business is falling behind."
It's not just talk, according to Ben, who is also a Rural Real Estate agent in Taranaki.
"In the last five years, the efficiency and sustainability of farming is becoming more of a focus point, rather than just us producing as much milk as we possibly can. I don't think Open Country is focusing on the farmer's sustainability of the future as much as Fonterra is. The support the Co-op is now putting behind farmers is superior."
He speaks highly of Fonterra's Farm Insights Report. "It shows the breakdown of various inputs, and there has been a lot of effort put in to make sure it's all in layman's terms and is easy to scan and absorb so that farmers know the basic information quickly."
"I think it will help farmers realise the financial status of a property sooner when looking to buy and sell their property."
Ben's competitive streak is also satisfied by these changes because it gives Fonterra farmers a leading edge. He says he's proud the Co-op can deliver a better milk price and better tools to farmers to produce better quality milk that keeps Kiwi farmers ahead of their competitors.
Despite current uncertainty on the political front, and changes that sometimes affect farmers in ways that don't make much sense, he says he is still optimistic about the future of dairying, with many dynamic young modern farmers coming up.
"I feel like the state of the dairy industry is in a good position. We've seen some awesome stuff from farmers, a generally positive attitude to improve the cash flows and become sustainable simultaneously."
Along with the digital tools that Fonterra has put in place, which he says massively streamline the compliance side of the business, he's been generally impressed with the services he's been provided.
"As we've returned to the Co-op, we've found them very easy to deal with. The level of support has stepped up immensely since we left, but I feel the Co-op has more hard work to yet to put our farmers first."
The recent introduction of the capital structure has given him greater confidence for the future and was another motivation for his return.
