North Otago Farmers Also Resist Take-over

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31866, 19 December 1968, Page 1

North Otago Farmers Also Resist Take-over

The chairman of the meat and wool section of North Otago Federated Farmers (Mr C. J. McLeod) yesterday joined the chairmen of the three meat and wool sections of the organisation in Canterbury in putting to the Meat Producers’ Board their case against the proposed take-over of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company, Ltd, by the Waitaki Farmers’ Freezing Company, Ltd.

With them was Mr W. N. Dunlop, representing Canterbury and North Otago members of the board’s electoral committee. From their discussions it was quite obvious that this was a straight take-over and not a merger as suggested in some quarters, Mr A. F. Wright, chairman of the North Canterbury meat and wool section, said when he returned to Christchurch last evening from the Wellington talks. Mr Wright, the spokesman for the group, which also included Mr J. G. Humm, chairman of the Mid-Canterbury meat and wool section, and Mr D. J. Hulston, chairman of the South Canterbury section, said that they had nothing more to say at this stage except that producers were adhering to their policy that there was an obvious need for producer participation in the freezing industry in Canterbury. A spokesman for the Meat Board said that it had received representations from

all parties involved and would keep in close touch with developments. A combined meeting of the meat and wool sections of Federated Farmers in North, Mid and South Canterbury and North Otago and of members of the electoral committee of the Meat Board in this area at Timaru on Tuesday decided unanimously to communicate to the Meat Board immediately the “deep concern of producers about the detrimental consequences if the suggested take-over of the Canterbury Frozen Meat Company of the Waitaki Farmers’ Freezing Company is completed.” The chairman of the meeting, Mr Hulston, said last evening that the decision had been conveyed to members of the Meat Board by telegram. The meeting had also, he said, unanimously endorsed the actions of the committee of producers consisting of Messrs Dunlop, Wright, Humm and himself in their consultations with the Meat Board about the proposed take-over and had empowered them to continue their negotiations. They had co-opted Mr McLeod to the negotiating committee.

“If the Waitaki company continues to press its bid it stands to lose a tremendous amount of good will from the producers in its own area,” Mr McLeod said.