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Speaker 1: The bills done. Fontira's consumer brands sale to like Tylus

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Speaker 1: or Lacta Leese is unconditional four point two billion average

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Speaker 1: farm against three hundred and sixty two thousand dollars. John Stevenson,

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Speaker 1: Fontira Cooperative Council Chair, is back. What was John? Morning

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Speaker 1: to you?

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Speaker 2: Good morning Mite.

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Speaker 1: That final vote that was held the other day was

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Speaker 1: ninety something percent. I mean the seemingly now know and unhappy,

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Speaker 1: everyone's laughing. It all worked out well in the end.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you know, farmers are really really happy

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Speaker 2: with the outcome and you certainly saw that in the

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Speaker 2: in the vote, and there's no doubt it's a good

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Speaker 2: time to be a Fonterira farmer at the moment.

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Speaker 1: That is true. What do you reckon actually drive the vote?

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Speaker 1: Was it money or logic? The logic of the sale.

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Speaker 2: Our farmers certainly engaged heavily in the discussions leading up

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Speaker 2: to the vote, and I think it's important to note

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Speaker 2: that the second vote was a confirmation of the payment.

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Speaker 2: The first vote that we had towards the end of

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Speaker 2: last year was or was heavily based on the rationale.

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Speaker 2: So you know, farmers a long term and thinking and

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Speaker 2: really engaged in that process. So what the ask any questions?

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Speaker 1: Good? What's the feat all around the money? If you're

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Speaker 1: getting three sixty, what are you doing with that?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? I think it's important to note there's varying degrees

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Speaker 2: of seholding amongst our farmers, but you know, we trade

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Speaker 2: on international markets. There's always volatility and what we do.

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Speaker 2: But the confidence that that money's coming is really reassuring

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Speaker 2: to farmers. There's no shortage of suitors for the capitals.

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Speaker 2: But you know, certainly what I'm hearing is that farms

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Speaker 2: they are often generational investments, and farmers love reinvesting into

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Speaker 2: their own businesses.

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Speaker 1: That's encouraging the auctions so far this year five from five.

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Speaker 1: What do you make of it? I mean, is there

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Speaker 1: any end to this?

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Speaker 2: Well? I think you know, as I mentioned, it's a

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Speaker 2: certainly a volatile place out there in the world. But

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Speaker 2: at the moment that you know, farmers are really encouraged

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Speaker 2: by those five positive auctions following the run of negative

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Speaker 2: actions at the end of last year. So you know,

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Speaker 2: we'll keep an eye on things, but the certainty of

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Speaker 2: that capital returns certainly encouraging for it.

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Speaker 1: And of course you'd want the money in the city

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Speaker 1: and you want the money to be spent. But I

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Speaker 1: knowed last week that the the average you need eight

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Speaker 1: to fifty on average to make money as a dairy

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Speaker 1: farmer in this country. That means debts too high, isn't it?

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Speaker 1: Because eight fifty is a big number, isn't it?

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Speaker 2: Eight fifty historically as a really big number. Mike, You

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Speaker 2: know we've seen costs go up, but as you mentioned

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Speaker 2: debt levels, you know we all carry a few bit

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Speaker 2: of debt. What I'm hearing from farmers is that they

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Speaker 2: have invested a lot in debt reduction in the last

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Speaker 2: sort of twelve to eighteen months. I'd expect that to

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Speaker 2: continue as well as as well as been alongside investment

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Speaker 2: in other areas well.

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Speaker 1: Good stuff, John, nice to catch up with you. Go well,

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Speaker 1: John Stevenson, who's the ponteer Cooperative Council. Chit. It's a

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Speaker 1: good result all around.

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Speaker 2: Isn't it. For more from the Mic Asking Breakfast, listen

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