Canterbury farmer Scott Evans says while farmers are worried after Fonterra reported a $605 million loss today, the dairy giant's financial woes were "strongly signalled early on".
Along with the loss Fonterra announced today it will close its Paraparaumu plant .
"We kind of knew what was happening – there's no real surprises in there. They are what they are but from a farmer's point of view – let's get the skeletons out of the closet and let's move forward," Scott Evans said. "If this is the skeletons out of the closet, then that's just par for the course."
He added that farmers may have taken on the view that their partnership with Fonterra is "sort of a set and forget".
"I think what we’re seeing from this is farmers need to be like, 'Look, we're watching you guys now,' so we need to make sure that they’re on the ball."
Mr Evans noted that farmers are concerned because Fonterra is "a massive part of their own individual work", but said the situation "needs to be looked at from the perspective of saying, 'Hey, if this is the bottom of the cycle, we're on the way out.'
"It is bad, but it is not as bad as we think."
Mr Evans said while he has "definitely" considered discontinuing work with Fonterra, "at the end of the day, Fonterra is a co-operative throughout New Zealand, and it's something that we need to stick strong to".
He said farmers need to ask themselves if "we want to be for New Zealand-owned by ourselves, or do we want to be under the control of other companies owned by, perhaps, foreigner investments?"
While he knows many farmers who have left Fonterra, he said: "I suppose, at the heart of most rural people in New Zealand is a good feeling of a co-operative spirit, and I think that's what’s going to see us through these times with Fonterra."
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