Rural Equities posts 27% decline in annual earnings after milk prices slumped

Rural Equities posts 27% decline in annual earnings after milk prices slumped
By Tina Morrison Sept. 1 (BusinessDesk) - Rural Equities, the farming group majority-owned by the Cushing family, posted a 27 percent decline in annual earnings as milk prices plummeted. The Hastings-based company said operating earnings before interest and tax fell to $4.67 million in the year ended June 30, from $6.43 million a year earlier as Fonterra Cooperative Group slashed its milk price payout to $4.40 per kilogram of milk solids from $8.40/kgMS the previous year. While that impacted its seven dairy farms, the company said its Wai...