October 30, 2025 • 6 mins
From London to Invercargill, the chief executive of Open Country Dairy joins us to discuss the Joseph Parker fight, the Southland storms, and the Fonterra vote.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
He is the globe trotting chief executive of Open Country Dairy,
(00:04):
a second biggest dairy company in this country, obviously behind Fonterra.
We're going to come back to Fonterra. But Mark de Latour,
you've just come back from in Picago. You've been down
there supporting your team down there, this horrendous damage on
some of the farms of your suppliers. But before that,
you were in London at the Joseph Parker fight versus
(00:26):
far Bo Wardley. You move in and famous circles in Picago.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
In London, it seemed like such a good idea. Jamie
Gooda's name by the way, Ye, it seemed like such
a great idea until I realized I'm fifty four years
of age and jet lag hits me harder at this stage.
So I thought I'd just pop over, watched Joe, just
give them my support, and then head back in at
the end of labor weekend. Which seemed good on paper,
but when you get off the plane, I certainly felt
(00:52):
every hour of that last flight home, but well worth doing.
It's one of those things in life that you have
to do.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Come on, come on, first world problems you would have
been sitting at the front, not the back.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
When boarding a plane that always turned left.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Yes, I'm with you on that one, But when you
fly down to them Picago, you haven't got that choice.
Sometimes you've got to go in one of those little
prop planes, which aren't that easy either, especially the way
the weather is at the moment. But on a more
serious vein, tell me what you saw on the ground
in Southland.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Yeah, it's you know, you got to feel for the
guys down there, and two two tough springs in a
row really for them, you know, and the season was
going so well, going gangbusters at good prices and then
the second year running there their spring is hammered. So
you know, we we rallied around our farmers really well.
(01:46):
I've got to say most of my time is with
you know, talking to to my team. A few of
the team are caught down and Balclouth are just finishing
up the farmer meetings and the storm hitting it and
it hit just so suddenly, you know, I think the
windows of rental cars were broken and everything for the team,
and took them about four or five hours to get
to to get to Dunedin. But it was interesting with
(02:09):
the team being and there, Jamie. I think within ten
minutes they had enacted our disaster management plan and I
think the tankers were packed up for an hour, no
one was heard or any damage to gear, but then
started collecting straight away within an hour a half of
that spam baiting. So the guys had a really really
good job.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Late October peak production in Southland and in many darying regions.
How much is this storm and we'll stick with Southland
and Southwest Otago because you've been down there. How much
is this going to knock peak production? And when it's
knocked they tell me you never get it back.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Yeah, I guess that's true to some extent. I think,
you know, again back to the team is you know,
whilst it was definitely milk spilt, what we managed to
do was there were six big generators at our sister
company f CO that is used to plug in refer containers,
and we threw those six generators on trucks and drove
(03:09):
them around to our farmers so they could at least
people could keep their sheds going and keep unloading as
much as possible. I think the team put in six
hundred and fifty thousand liters of water that's the number
that's on the head, just to keep water for the
farms as well. So I think there was no doubt
that there's a big amount of milk spilt in the conditions.
(03:32):
But with the team supporting, I think our suppliers hopefully
fared better better than others. And I know that is
back up to about three point eight million leaders a
day right now, So let's just hope we can keep
their production up.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
So, Mark Delatour, you're the chief executive of our second
biggest dairy company. Obviously Fonterra is the biggest by the
length of the strait. The farmers voted overwhelmingly to sell
their consumer brands to luck to Lease. What do you
make of it?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, I knew you'd ask me that question, Jane.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Look, well, don't sit on the fence. Give me an
honest opinion.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
One thing I will say is, look, you know, good
on the farmers. They're given two dollars this year, and
I guess that's what I think. I've read that it's
around four hundred thousand dollars on average for the farmers,
So you know, the good on them. If I think
I got off that, i'd vote for it as well,
but you know, I think at the end of the day,
it's a little disappointing for New Zealand. It is a shame,
(04:33):
you know, when you see Anchor and Mainland you've had
to say those famous French brands and that that hurts
a little bit. You know, where one hundred percent New
Zealand owned, and it is a shame that that it's
it's gone that way. But I understand, you know, if
if I didn't fundamentally think that that the ingredient food
(04:54):
service model was correct, open country to look different with
the jam that's our business model.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
It has been Well, basically Fonterra is this she she
should take? This is flattery. They're following your business model.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I think they're pushed back on them following us, but
it is the same business model. And you know we've
been very staunched and now moves not to be in
that consumer brand business. Let's lots of overhead, lots of complexity, and.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Well that's a good reason for Fonterra to get out
of it. Mark, you're sounding like Winstone, like a grumpy
old man barking at the clouds.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Yeah, well those brands had some New Zealand value I guess,
and there may there may have been other options, but anyway,
it's been decided and that's the way the cookies crumbled,
and let's see how it goes from here.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Okay, Mark Delator, thanks for some of your time. How's
Joseph Parker? Because I know you went over there because
you're good mates with them. How is he?
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yeah, No, he's good. He's you know, he's a hell
of a lot more philosophical, and you know he's a
professional athlete, so it comes with the territory and he'll
carry on. He's just turned thirty four, so he's still
got two or three years of prime career ahead of him,
so you know he won't give up. He's the most focused,
(06:10):
driven person I know, So you know, it's just a
small bit from he'll be back and.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
He seems like a hell of a good bloke, a
great ambassador for New Zealand. Mark de Latour, Globe Trotting,
Chief executive of Open Country Dairy, Thanks for your time.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Thanks mate,
He is the globe trotting chief executive of Open Country Dairy,
(00:04):
a second biggest dairy company in this country, obviously behind Fonterra.
We're going to come back to Fonterra. But Mark de Latour,
you've just come back from in Picago. You've been down
there supporting your team down there, this horrendous damage on
some of the farms of your suppliers. But before that,
you were in London at the Joseph Parker fight versus
(00:26):
far Bo Wardley. You move in and famous circles in Picago.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
In London, it seemed like such a good idea. Jamie
Gooda's name by the way, Ye, it seemed like such
a great idea until I realized I'm fifty four years
of age and jet lag hits me harder at this stage.
So I thought I'd just pop over, watched Joe, just
give them my support, and then head back in at
the end of labor weekend. Which seemed good on paper,
but when you get off the plane, I certainly felt
(00:52):
every hour of that last flight home, but well worth doing.
It's one of those things in life that you have
to do.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Come on, come on, first world problems you would have
been sitting at the front, not the back.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
When boarding a plane that always turned left.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Yes, I'm with you on that one, But when you
fly down to them Picago, you haven't got that choice.
Sometimes you've got to go in one of those little
prop planes, which aren't that easy either, especially the way
the weather is at the moment. But on a more
serious vein, tell me what you saw on the ground
in Southland.
Speaker 2 (01:23):
Yeah, it's you know, you got to feel for the
guys down there, and two two tough springs in a
row really for them, you know, and the season was
going so well, going gangbusters at good prices and then
the second year running there their spring is hammered. So
you know, we we rallied around our farmers really well.
(01:46):
I've got to say most of my time is with
you know, talking to to my team. A few of
the team are caught down and Balclouth are just finishing
up the farmer meetings and the storm hitting it and
it hit just so suddenly, you know, I think the
windows of rental cars were broken and everything for the team,
and took them about four or five hours to get
to to get to Dunedin. But it was interesting with
(02:09):
the team being and there, Jamie. I think within ten
minutes they had enacted our disaster management plan and I
think the tankers were packed up for an hour, no
one was heard or any damage to gear, but then
started collecting straight away within an hour a half of
that spam baiting. So the guys had a really really
good job.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Late October peak production in Southland and in many darying regions.
How much is this storm and we'll stick with Southland
and Southwest Otago because you've been down there. How much
is this going to knock peak production? And when it's
knocked they tell me you never get it back.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Yeah, I guess that's true to some extent. I think,
you know, again back to the team is you know,
whilst it was definitely milk spilt, what we managed to
do was there were six big generators at our sister
company f CO that is used to plug in refer containers,
and we threw those six generators on trucks and drove
(03:09):
them around to our farmers so they could at least
people could keep their sheds going and keep unloading as
much as possible. I think the team put in six
hundred and fifty thousand liters of water that's the number
that's on the head, just to keep water for the
farms as well. So I think there was no doubt
that there's a big amount of milk spilt in the conditions.
(03:32):
But with the team supporting, I think our suppliers hopefully
fared better better than others. And I know that is
back up to about three point eight million leaders a
day right now, So let's just hope we can keep
their production up.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
So, Mark Delatour, you're the chief executive of our second
biggest dairy company. Obviously Fonterra is the biggest by the
length of the strait. The farmers voted overwhelmingly to sell
their consumer brands to luck to Lease. What do you
make of it?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
Yeah, I knew you'd ask me that question, Jane.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Look, well, don't sit on the fence. Give me an
honest opinion.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
One thing I will say is, look, you know, good
on the farmers. They're given two dollars this year, and
I guess that's what I think. I've read that it's
around four hundred thousand dollars on average for the farmers,
So you know, the good on them. If I think
I got off that, i'd vote for it as well,
but you know, I think at the end of the day,
it's a little disappointing for New Zealand. It is a shame,
(04:33):
you know, when you see Anchor and Mainland you've had
to say those famous French brands and that that hurts
a little bit. You know, where one hundred percent New
Zealand owned, and it is a shame that that it's
it's gone that way. But I understand, you know, if
if I didn't fundamentally think that that the ingredient food
(04:54):
service model was correct, open country to look different with
the jam that's our business model.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
It has been Well, basically Fonterra is this she she
should take? This is flattery. They're following your business model.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
I think they're pushed back on them following us, but
it is the same business model. And you know we've
been very staunched and now moves not to be in
that consumer brand business. Let's lots of overhead, lots of complexity, and.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Well that's a good reason for Fonterra to get out
of it. Mark, you're sounding like Winstone, like a grumpy
old man barking at the clouds.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
Yeah, well those brands had some New Zealand value I guess,
and there may there may have been other options, but anyway,
it's been decided and that's the way the cookies crumbled,
and let's see how it goes from here.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Okay, Mark Delator, thanks for some of your time. How's
Joseph Parker? Because I know you went over there because
you're good mates with them. How is he?
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yeah, No, he's good. He's you know, he's a hell
of a lot more philosophical, and you know he's a
professional athlete, so it comes with the territory and he'll
carry on. He's just turned thirty four, so he's still
got two or three years of prime career ahead of him,
so you know he won't give up. He's the most focused,
(06:10):
driven person I know, So you know, it's just a
small bit from he'll be back and.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
He seems like a hell of a good bloke, a
great ambassador for New Zealand. Mark de Latour, Globe Trotting,
Chief executive of Open Country Dairy, Thanks for your time.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Thanks mate,
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