Fonterra farmers pin hopes on higher dividend following slashed farmgate milk price forecast

Fonterra farmers pin hopes on higher dividend following slashed farmgate milk price forecast
By Fiona Rotherham Dec. 10 (BusinessDesk) - Dairy farmers facing a slashed farmgate milk price will be pinning their hopes on a boosted dividend from the Fonterra Cooperative Group to bolster their returns. Dairy exporter Fonterra today slashed its forecast farmgate milk price for the 2014/2015 season by 60 cents per kilogram of milk solids to $4.70/kgMS but left the dividend range unchanged at 25-35 cents per share. The reduced milk price forecast translates to a drop of more than $6 billion in dairy industry income, or 2.7 percent of gr...