Every primary school child will have free milk at school in 2013 under an ambitious new Fonterra programme Milk for Schools.

And while many are praising the initiative – some Fonterra suppliers are questioning the move.

Milk for Schools will begin with a trial in 2012 in Northland covering 110 primary schools with 14,000 students.

The pilot will allow Fonterra to assess the logistics of the roll-out, co-ordinate the milk’s distribution and help schools’ organise consumption at their end.

And while Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings told media it wasn’t appropriate to be talking about the costs of the Milk For Schools project at its launch, it seems the co-op’s shareholders are also concerned about the costs of the programme.

Robin Barkla, Federated Farmers dairy vice-president , told Country99TV there had been a mixed reaction.

 “One chap I spoke to, he’s CEO of a large kiwifruit packhouse, he’s got a dairy farm, very progressive, he said 'oh it’s the bloody best thing you could do'."

But Mr Barkla said other shareholders were less impressed.

“And then I spoke to one or two mum or dad farmers and they said 'well, we’ve got to pick up the tab'."

Mr Barkla said some of the co-op’s farmers are going through tough times because they bought in at the high point, and now land prices are falling in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato.

“So my point is, times are still tough: and so there will be some farmers thinking 'I could do with a little bit of help'.”        

And in political circles Fonterra’s announcement was also met with mixed reactions.

The Maori Party said the move showed Fonterra’s corporate conscience, and its investment in the country’s children made it a role model for other New Zealand companies.

But the Green Party questioned what will happen to Milk for Schools when Fonterra’s profits or milk supplies dip, and said the very fact Fonterra has to implement this plan is an indictment on our government’s economic and social policies.