Fonterra, a New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative, has outlined plans to roll out Farm Source to help farmers.

The company noted that Farm Source combines service, support, rewards, digital technology and financial options for farmers together with local Farm Source hubs to support the major dairying regions throughout the country.

Fonterra believes that the Farm Source will aid in supporting the cooperative’s connection with the New Zealand rural communities.

Farm Source was launched from Fonterra’s first Farm Source hub in Methven, which is a new community asset that combines rural supplies with a drop-in lounge for farmers and facilities, including meeting rooms and a home base for Fonterra’s regional on-farm support team.

Fonterra chairman John Wilson said: "With Farm Source we are taking our relationship with our farmers to a whole new level through connected services and support systems developed for them."

Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings said: "It is not a programme or a collection of benefits. Farm Source is about connecting farmers with the full strength of our cooperative. Ultimately, we see Farm Source as setting the benchmark when it comes to supporting farmers and providing exclusive benefits beyond the milk price.

"Farm Source is about working together to grow and succeed together and to reach our ambition of global relevance. We want to access a 30 billion litre global milk pool by 2025. Farm Source starts here in New Zealand. We will also look to adopt it in other markets where we are growing our milk pools, tailoring it for those local markets."

As part of the Farm Source hub launch in Methven, the dairy group is offering 71 Farm Source hubs, most of them within 25km of 90% of Fonterra farms, which will provide a home base for farmers in their local communities.

Farm Source will bring down the cost of farm supplies and services. It will also provide various online offers and easy digital ways for the farmers to manage their business, as well as financial tools to help them manage their finances and investments.