Yep. New Zealand farmers voted themselves to peasant status. As you would expect I disagree. See how rich the Euro-subsidised farm suppliers of the Nestle Corporation are by comparison (note, not the Nestle shareholders). There are very few other primary producers who own their entire industry from top to bottom. How do New Zealand Dairy farmers get to be peasants? People keep referring to the new entity as a monopoly which it most assuredly is not. NZ produces about 10% of international traded milk. In its global market, New Zealand's 10% is scarcely a monopoly position. Of course they are working on it, and by buying and processing other people's milk, they actually have about 32% of the world's internationally traded milk. I often wonder at what stage the usually admirable drive to increase market share becomes evil monopolistic behaviour.

People keep referring to the new entity as a monopoly which it most assuredly is not. NZ produces about 10% of international traded milk. In its global market, New Zealand's 10% is scarcely a monopoly position. Of course they are working on it, and by buying and processing other people's milk, they actually have about 32% of the world's internationally traded milk. I often wonder at what stage the usually admirable drive to increase market share becomes evil monopolistic behaviour. I use the word peasants in the sense of serfdom. New Zealand uses a cooperative structure which is a remnant of Stalinism. It is sold on a premise that, if we only stick together, we will be able to corner the world markets <guffaw. Only a simpleton would think this way. The people running the Dairy Board are not business managers, they are farmer-politicians elected by other farmers, i.e. commercial simpletons. That is why they are not - and never will be - Nestles.

The people running the Dairy Board are not business managers, they are farmer-politicians elected by other farmers, i.e. commercial simpletons. Farmers = commercial simpletons? That hasn't been true for at least the last dozen years (a fairly good case could be made that it has never been true - a farm after all is a business like any other).