Dairy battle heads into cyberspace

By Michele Simpson

Friday 30th June 2000

GOING ONLINE: Anchor brand

The New Zealand Dairy Group is going head-to-head with listed rural services company Wrightson as the farmer's co-operative launches a new e-commerce retail venture.

Getting the nation's farmers into cyberspace is part of the Dairy Group's secret strategy to involve its 27 Anchor Mart stores around the country in a huge online project.

Wrightson is online already with a range of agricultural products and services, but the Dairy Group launch is expected to be based on the "clicks and mortar" model of e-commerce, a source within the dairy industry said.

In March, the Dairy Group registered a new site believed to be linked with the online agribusiness venture, RD1.co.nz.

"The industry is in a state of upheaval. Rather than go through the board [the Dairy Group] probably will do it this way and be in charge of their own marketing," a source close to the Dairy Group said.

An increasingly high proportion of farmers are turning to the internet for products and services. Younger farmers are much more technology savvy and use home computers to buy products. The Dairy Group, which owns the Anchor brand, has gone online with its milk production and milk quality data from its 8000 farmer shareholders.

"As farmers have turned to technology, we have moved to use the internet as a way of satisfying their increasing hunger for timely information," supplier services manager Steve Nelson said.

Kiwi Co-op Dairies, a competitor and fellow shareholder in the New Zealand Dairy Board, is also moving into e-commerce.

Chief executive Craig Norgate was keeping quiet on the venture but said it would be launched in August.

"You'll find [farmers] are pretty computer literate and have a high rate of net usage. For us we are embracing the opportunities in e-commerce with retail and other uses," Mr Norgate said.

Farmers cannot get enough of the internet and are fighting for better internet access.

Federated Farmers is lobbying Telecom and the government to guarantee internet access in rural areas because of low standards of telecommunication in some parts of the country.

Dairy Group project head Neal Murphy would not comment about the e-commerce venture. But the Dairy Group issued a statement yesterday saying a consortium of businesses was exploring e-commerce opportunities for farmers and their families.

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