Farmers’ plans lack support

Press, 4 December 1978, Page 23

Farmers’ plans lack support

PA ' Hamilton Farmers’ plans to buy a large block of shares in New Zealand Fanners Fertiliser Co, Ltd, is in danger .of failing, because of a lack of support. The deadline for raising the $5.5M needed to buy the shares is this Friday, "but it is iikely the full sum will not be raised by then, according to Mr A. Woolven, chairman of Fertiliser Holdings, Ltd, the company set| up to buy the shares. Farmers are being asked to ( pay one quarter of the cost of" purchasing 3,286,904 shares in N.Z.F.F. — the rest will be paid using a Meat Board loan. Dairy companies have underwritten the portion of : the shares set aside for their ■suppliers, but Federated

i Farmers was having more trouble getting sheep and i beef farmers to act. It was difficult to say how ■ far short of the full sum ■ the holding company would ’ be by Friday, Mr Woolven said. > “Each das- is critical — • the number of applications : seems to be increasing. That 1 would seem to say farmers , are realising the urgency of , the matter,” he said. The directors of Fertiliser I Holdings will meet on Friday ito decide whether to extend lithe time in which the funds : have to be raised. The block of shares would : give upper North Island farmers a large interest in the running of N.Z. Farmers Fertiliser. There are six ' fertiliser plants north of ■ Wanganui, and N.Z. Farmers I Fertiliser owns five of them.