Federated Farmers says top management should be leaving Fonterra Cooperative Group if results don’t start improving in the next couple of years. The comments, from Fed Farmers dairy chair Andrew Hoggard were in response to the confirmation today by the world’s largest dairy exporter that it will cut 523 jobs to save up to $60 a million a year on its payroll …

Weaker dairy prices have prompted analysts to pull back their expectations for Fonterra Cooperative Group’s payout to farmers this season, with most now expecting this year’s payout will be below last year’s, which is likely to put pressure on farm incomes and see debt levels rise. The price for whole milk powder, New Zealand’s key commodity export, dropped 13 percent …

Dairy product prices sank in the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction, paced by cheddar and whole milk powder, reflecting a sombre outlook. The GDT average winning prices sank 10.7 percent to US$2,082, down from US$2,276 at the previous auction two weeks ago. It was the lowest level since July 2009. Some 31,691 tonnes of product was sold, down from 33,200 tonnes of …