The Tatua Co-operative Dairy Company Ltd, trading as Tatua, is an independent
co-operative
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...
dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
company in the
Matamata-Piako District of the
Waikato
Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...
Region, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located in the rural locality of
Tatuanui, approximately 8 kilometres east of
Morrinsville
Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, with an estimated population of as of The town is located at the northern base of the Pakaroa Range, and on the south-western fringe of the Hauraki Plains. ...
. The co-operative is owned by 106 shareholder farms, all located within a 12 kilometre radius of the processing factory.
Independence
The co-operative has maintained a strong independent history within the New Zealand dairy industry. In the 2001 mega-merger for the New Zealand dairy industry - which formed
Fonterra
Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational publicly traded dairy co-operative owned by around 9,000 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exce ...
- Tatua shareholders decided to remain independent. Given that New Zealand had over 500
dairy co-operatives in the 1930s, Tatua is unique in that it is the only New Zealand dairy co-operative remaining that has never been part of any merger throughout its history.
Performance
Tatua often records the highest payout for milksolids to the farmer shareholders in New Zealand. While the high level of payout is partly due to a small catchment area (which reduces processing costs), the excellent financial performance of Tatua is increasingly attributed to focusing on value-added milk products rather than traditional, mass-produced, commodity-based milk products such as milk powder, butter and cheese.
See also
*
Dairy farming in New Zealand
Dairy farming in New Zealand began from small beginnings during the early days of colonisation by Europeans. The New Zealand dairy industry is based almost exclusively on cattle, with a population of 4.92 million milking cows in the 2019-20 seaso ...
Organisational Memberships
* New Zealand Co-operatives Association (Inc)
* Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand (DCANZ)
References
External links
* {{Official website, https://www.tatua.com/
Dairy cooperatives
Dairy products companies of New Zealand
Cooperatives in New Zealand