Farmers concerned about the implications of Fonterra’s capital raising vehicle, Trading Among Farmers or TAF, say the dairy giant now admits it’s shifted the goalposts.

South Canterbury dairy farmer Leonie Guiney says Fonterra now acknowledges that it has significantly changed the TAF proposal by shifting the legal title of farmers’ shares placed in the shareholders fund to a custodian.

“Jim van der Poel at the Fonterra meeting said look Fonterra needs to look at whether they have either a moral or a legal obligation to go back to farmers. And we know clearly they have a moral obligation to our cooperative. Whether they have a legal obligation, I mean that can be argued back and forth.

“We’re a cooperative and there’s a high number of shareholders unhappy about this change.”   

In June 2010, nearly 90% of Fonterra farmers voted in favour of TAF, but now Leonie Guiney says many are concerned that the changes will result in non-farmer investors gaining decision making sway with the company.

Guiney says Fonterra’s executives were grilled when they appeared at a meeting in Ashburton about the changes to TAF, and farmers at other meetings throughout New Zealand have been demanding they get to vote again too. 

Fonterra’s executives have repeatedly guaranteed that farmers will not lose 100% ownership control.  

And while Fonterra’s shareholders council must still sign off on TAF, Guiney says she believes the council’s behaviour on the issue to date has simply been abominable, and the vote must go back to farmers. 

“Council leadership seems to have decided on our behalf that the share title should be removed from the farmer, and that’s the best thing to do. Now to me that’s abominable.

“That’s a major failure in the job of council, the council is there to ask the questions, what are the risks if this share title is shifted?”