The New Zealand Dairy Cooperatives’ Adaptation to Changing Market Conditions

This article examines the market conditions, the strategies, and the organizational structures of agricultural cooperatives. Based on the growing literature on cooperative organizational models, it is expected that the new organizational patterns in the New Zealand dairy cooperatives in the early 2000s are a consequence of market changes. Case studies of the three cooperatives are conducted, focusing on the organizational structures in terms of collective versus individualized attributes. The dissolution of the New Zealand Dairy Board created new market opportunities for the cooperatives. Hence, the co-operatives had reason to develop new market strategies, and in order to pursue these well, they changed their organizational structures. The observations indicate that more liberalized and open markets require cooperative organizational models with more individualized traits.Cooperative, Dairy, New Zealand, Fonterra, Market strategy, Organizational model, Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries,

Nyzeeländska mejerikooperativ : strategier, strukturer och avreglering

The purpose of this thesis is to examine how the New Zealand dairy co-operatives have adjusted their market strategies and organisational structures as a result of changing market characteristics, and to investigate what were the driving forces behind these adjustments. The thesis gives an introduction to the industry and its development. The three dairy co-operatives which operate in New Zealand are analysed from a strategy (Porter's generic strategies) and structure (collective versus individualised) perspective. The main part of the empirical material was collected during a study trip in New Zealand in March and April 2003. Interviews were carried out with representatives of the three dairy co-operatives and with persons in other ways active in the dairy sector. With excellent conditions for pastoral agriculture, New Zealand has a dairy industry that successfully exports dairy products on the world market. The majority of products are exported as commodities, such as milk powder, butter and cheese. The dairy industry has undergone major structural changes. During the last decades, the industry has seen the number of co-operatives decline as a result of mergers between co-operatives. In 2001, only two major co-operatives remained, New Zealand Dairy Group and Kiwi, along with two minor co-operatives, Tatua and Westland. The industry has also undergone deregulation, after being regulated since 1935. An export monopoly, which allowed for dairy products to be exported solely through the New Zealand Dairy Board, was abolished in 2001. At the time of the deregulation, the two larger co-operatives merged to form the dairy giant Fonterra, a co-operative with over 13,000 shareholders. The operations of the New Zealand Dairy Board were integrated into the new co-operative. Westland and Tatua chose not to join the so-called mega-merger. A number of driving forces can be identified, which explain these changes. Early mergers were mainly driven by technical improvements and economies of scale, while later mergers also were the results of the export pricing system, the power balance between co-operatives and personal prestige for persons in leading positions. The deregulation of the Dairy Board can be explained by the political (deregulation) climate in New Zealand, international and domestic pressure to deregulate and the understanding within the dairy industry that the system with one export organisation and few dairy co-operatives was no longer functional. The formation of Fonterra can be explained similarly, along with the expectation that the New Zealand dairy industry would have a stronger position on the international market as one single operator. The dairy co-operatives have different strategies and structures. The focus of Fonterra is on commodities, but with an increasing interest for consumer goods and value-added products. The structure of Fonterra is rather individualised, with close to all equity being allocated to shareholders. Membership is open. The shares are valued by an independent valuer every season and are thus appreciable. Shareholder influence is related to delivery, the number of votes being proportional to milk supply. Westland is mainly a commodity processor, but has made significant investments to increase the share of value-added products. Westland has a somewhat more collective structure than the other two co-operatives. The shares have a nominal value and the number of votes per member is calculated on the basis of larger quantities. The membership is open, but limited by geographical boundaries. Tatua is the most specialised co-operative and produces value-added ingredients and consumer products. Structurally, it is the most individualised co-operative of the three. Membership is practically closed, shares are tradable and voting rights are linked to delivery rights. The analysis shows that New Zealand co-operatives have more individualised structures than those found in the European and Swedish dairy industries. Their strategies give an indication that the share of New Zealand dairy products exported as value-added products is likely to increase in the future.Denna uppsats behandlar den nyzeeländska mejeriindustrin och dess kooperativa aktörer. Uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka hur de nyzeeländska mejerikooperativen har anpassat sina strategier och stukturer som en följd av förändrade marknadsförhållanden, och att kartlägga drivkrafterna bakom dessa anpassningar. Uppsatsen ger en introduktion till industrin och dess utveckling. De tre kooperativa mejeriföretag som idag är verksamma i Nya Zeeland beskrivs och analyseras ur ett strategiskt (Porters generiska strategier) och strukturellt (främst i termerna kollektivt kontra individualiserat) perspektiv. Huvuddelen av det empiriska materialet i uppsatsen inhämtades under en studieresa i Nya Zeeland i mars och april 2003. Intervjuer gjordes med företrädare för de tre kooperativen, samt med personer som på något sätt varit delaktiga i mejerisektorns utveckling. Nya Zeeland har, med sina mycket goda förutsättningar för betesjordbruk, utvecklat en mejeriindustri som konkurrenskraftigt och framgångsrikt exporterar mjölkprodukter. Större delen av exporten utgörs av bulkprodukter såsom mjölkpulver, smör och ost. Mejeriindustrin har genomgått stora strukturella förändringar. För det första, har industrin de senaste decennierna präglats av fusioner mellan mejerikooperativ. År 2001 återstod endast två dominerande kooperativ, New Zealand Dairy Group och Kiwi, samt de små kooperativen Tatua och Westland. För det andra, var mejeriindustrin länge strängt reglerad. Ett lagstadgat exportmonopol innebar att enbart exportorganet New Zealand Dairy Board hade rätt att exportera mjölkprodukter. För det tredje, fusionerade de båda stora kooperativen samtidigt som exportmonopolet upphävdes år 2001, vilket resulterade i mejerijätten Fonterra, ett kooperativ med över 13 000 medlemmar. Westland och Tatua valde att stå utanför fusionen. Ett antal drivkrafter kan antas ligga bakom dessa förändringar. Tekniska förbättringar och stordriftsfördelar kan sägas ligga bakom tidiga fusioner, medan man bakom senare fusioner kan skönja faktorer som exportprissättning, maktbalans mellan kooperativ och personlig prestige för personer på ledande positioner. Avregleringen av New Zealand Dairy Board kan förklaras av det politiska (avregleringsvänliga) klimatet i Nya Zeeland, internationella och nationella påtryckningar och en insikt inom mejerisektorn att systemet med ett exportorgan och ett fåtal mejerikooperativ inte längre var funktionell. Liknande förklaringar finns bakom bildandet av Fonterra, samt förhoppningen att med en enda aktör kunna få en starkare position på världsmarknaden. Mejerikooperativen är till sina strategier och strukturer mycket olika. Fonterras fokus ligger på bulkvaror, med ökande intresse för konsumentprodukter och högförädlade produkter. Till sin struktur är Fonterra relativt individualiserat, med i princip endast individuellt eget kapital. Medlemskapet är öppet. Andelarna värderas varje säsong av en oberoende värderare och kan således öka i värde. Medlemmarnas demokratiska inflytande i kooperativet är relaterat till mängden mjölk som levereras. Även Westland tillverkar huvudsakligen bulkprodukter, men har gjort betydande investeringar för att öka andelen förädlade produkter. Westland har en något mer kollektiv prägel, då andelarna har ett nominellt värde och antalet röster per medlem beräknas på större kvantiteter än hos Fonterra. Medlemskapet är geografiskt begränsat. Tatua är det mest specialiserade kooperativet och producerar högförädlade ingredienser och konsumentprodukter. Det är även det till strukturen mest individualiserade kooperativet – medlemskapet är stängt, andelarna kan köpas och säljas och demokratiskt inflytande är kopplat till leveransmängden. Analysen visar en bild av de nyzeeländska kooperativen som betydligt mer individualiserade än svensk/europeisk mejerikooperation och med strategier som tyder på att nyzeeländsk mejeriexport i framtiden kan komma att utgöras av högre andelar förädlade mejeriprodukter än i dagsläget

Cross-sectional associations between occupational factors and musculoskeletal pain in women teachers, nurses and sonographers

A. Technical measurements of the physical workload. (DOCX 18 kb

Plasma levels of alpha1-antichymotrypsin and secretory leukocyte proteinase inhibitor in healthy and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) subjects with and without severe α1-antitrypsin deficiency

BACKGROUND: Individuals with severe Z α1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency have a considerably increased risk of developing chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). It has been hypothesized that compensatory increases in levels of other protease inhibitors mitigate the effects of this AAT deficiency. We analysed plasma levels of AAT, α1-antichymotrypsin (ACT) and secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI) in healthy (asymptomatic) and COPD subjects with and without AAT deficiency. METHODS: Studied groups included: 71 asymptomatic AAT-deficient subjects (ZZ, n = 48 and SZ, n = 23, age 31 ± 0.5) identified during Swedish neonatal screening for AAT deficiency between 1972 and 1974; age-matched controls (MM, n = 57, age 30.7 ± 0.6); older asymptomatic ZZ (n = 10); healthy MM (n = 20, age 53 ± 9.6); and COPD patients (ZZ, n = 10, age 47.4 ± 11 and MM, n = 10, age 59.4 ± 6.7). Plasma levels of SLPI, AAT and ACT were analysed using ELISA and immunoelectrophoresis. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in plasma ACT and SLPI levels between the healthy MM and the ZZ or SZ subjects in the studied groups. Independent of the genetic variant, subjects with COPD (n = 19) had elevated plasma levels of SLPI and ACT relative to controls (n = 153) (49.5 ± 7.2 vs 40.7 ± 9.1 ng/ml, p < 0.001 and 0.52 ± 0.19 vs 0.40 ± 0.1 mg/ml, p < 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our findings show that plasma levels of ACT and SLPI are not elevated in subjects with genetic AAT deficiency compared MM controls and do not appear to compensate for the deficiency of plasma AAT

Parental socioeconomic position and development of overweight in adolescence: longitudinal study of Danish adolescents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An inverse social gradient in overweight among adolescents has been shown in developed countries, but few studies have examined whether weight gain and the development of overweight differs among adolescents from different socioeconomic groups in a longitudinal study. The objective was to identify the possible association between parental socioeconomic position, weight change and the risk of developing overweight among adolescents between the ages 15 to 21.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Prospective cohort study conducted in Denmark with baseline examination in 1996 and follow-up questionnaire in 2003 with a mean follow-up time of 6.4 years. A sample of 1,656 adolescents participated in both baseline (mean age 14.8) and follow-up (mean age 21.3). Of these, 1,402 had a body mass index (BMI = weight/height²kg/m²) corresponding to a value below 25 at baseline when adjusted for age and gender according to guidelines from International Obesity Taskforce, and were at risk of developing overweight during the study period. The exposure was parental occupational status. The main outcome measures were change in BMI and development of overweight (from BMI < 25 to BMI > = 25).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Average BMI increased from 21.3 to 22.7 for girls and from 20.6 to 23.6 in boys during follow-up. An inverse social gradient in overweight was seen for girls at baseline and follow-up and for boys at follow-up. In the full population there was a tendency to an inverse social gradient in the overall increase in BMI for girls, but not for boys. A total of 13.4% developed overweight during the follow-up period. Girls of lower parental socioeconomic position had a higher risk of developing overweight (OR's between 4.72; CI 1.31 to 17.04 and 2.03; CI 1.10-3.74) when compared to girls of high parental socioeconomic position. A tendency for an inverse social gradient in the development of overweight for boys was seen, but it did not meet the significance criteria</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The levels of overweight and obesity among adolescents are high and continue to rise. Results from this study suggest that the inverse social gradient in overweight becomes steeper for girls and emerges for boys in late adolescence (age span 15 to 21 years). Late adolescence seems to be an important window of opportunity in reducing the social inequality in overweight among Danish adolescents.</p

A Gly98Val Mutation in the N-Myc Downstream Regulated Gene 1 (NDRG1) in Alaskan Malamutes with Polyneuropathy

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Physical activity attenuates the influence of FTO variants on obesity risk: A meta-analysis of 218,166 adults and 19,268 children

Background: The FTO gene harbors the strongest known susceptibility locus for obesity. While many individual studies have suggested that physical activity (PA) may attenuate the effect of FTO on obesity risk, other studies have not been able to confirm this interaction. To confirm or refute unambiguously whether PA attenuates the association of FTO with obesity risk, we meta-analyzed data from 45 studies of adults (n = 218,166) and nine studies of children and adolescents (n = 19,268). Methods and Findings: All studies identified to have data on the FTO rs9939609 variant (or any proxy [r2>0.8]) and PA were invited to participate, regardless of ethnicity or age of the participants. PA was standardized by categorizing it into a dichotomous variable (physically inactive versus active) in each study. Overall, 25% of adults and 13% of children were categorized as inactive. Interaction analyses were performed within each study by including the FTO×PA interaction term in an additive model, adjusting for age and sex. Subsequently, random effects meta-analysis was used to pool the interaction terms. In adults, the minor (A-) allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity by 1.23-fold/allele (95% CI 1.20-1.26), but PA attenuated this effect (pinteraction= 0.001). More specifically, the minor allele of rs9939609 increased the odds of obesity less in the physically active group (odds ratio = 1.22/allele, 95% CI 1.19-1.25) than in the inactive group (odds ratio = 1.30/allele, 95% CI 1.24-1.36). No such interaction was found in children and adolescents. Concl

Concentration addition, independent action and generalized concentration addition models for mixture effect prediction of sex hormone synthesis in vitro

Humans are concomitantly exposed to numerous chemicals. An infinite number of combinations and doses thereof can be imagined. For toxicological risk assessment the mathematical prediction of mixture effects, using knowledge on single chemicals, is therefore desirable. We investigated pros and cons of the concentration addition (CA), independent action (IA) and generalized concentration addition (GCA) models. First we measured effects of single chemicals and mixtures thereof on steroid synthesis in H295R cells. Then single chemical data were applied to the models; predictions of mixture effects were calculated and compared to the experimental mixture data. Mixture 1 contained environmental chemicals adjusted in ratio according to human exposure levels. Mixture 2 was a potency adjusted mixture containing five pesticides. Prediction of testosterone effects coincided with the experimental Mixture 1 data. In contrast, antagonism was observed for effects of Mixture 2 on this hormone. The mixtures contained chemicals exerting only limited maximal effects. This hampered prediction by the CA and IA models, whereas the GCA model could be used to predict a full dose response curve. Regarding effects on progesterone and estradiol, some chemicals were having stimulatory effects whereas others had inhibitory effects. The three models were not applicable in this situation and no predictions could be performed. Finally, the expected contributions of single chemicals to the mixture effects were calculated. Prochloraz was the predominant but not sole driver of the mixtures, suggesting that one chemical alone was not responsible for the mixture effects. In conclusion, the GCA model seemed to be superior to the CA and IA models for the prediction of testosterone effects. A situation with chemicals exerting opposing effects, for which the models could not be applied, was identified. In addition, the data indicate that in non-potency adjusted mixtures the effects cannot always be accounted for by single chemicals

Pre-diagnostic concordance with the WCRF/AICR guidelines and survival in European colorectal cancer patients : a cohort study

Background: Cancer survivors are advised to follow lifestyle recommendations on diet, physical activity, and body fatness proposed by the World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute of Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) for cancer prevention. Previous studies have demonstrated that higher concordance with these recommendations measured using an index score (the WCRF/AICR score) was associated with lower cancer incidence and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between pre-diagnostic concordance with WCRF/AICR recommendations and mortality in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Methods: The association between the WCRF/AICR score (score range 0-6 in men and 0-7 in women; higher scores indicate greater concordance) assessed on average 6.4 years before diagnosis and CRC-specific (n = 872) and overall mortality (n = 1,113) was prospectively examined among 3,292 participants diagnosed with CRC in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort (mean follow-up time after diagnosis 4.2 years). Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mortality. Results: The HRs (95% CIs) for CRC-specific mortality among participants in the second (score range in men/women: 2.25-2.75/3.25-3.75), third (3-3.75/4-4.75), and fourth (4-6/5-7) categories of the score were 0.87 (0.72-1.06), 0.74 (0.61-0.90), and 0.70 (0.56-0.89), respectively (P for trend Conclusions: Greater concordance with the WCRF/AICR recommendations on diet, physical activity, and body fatness prior to CRC diagnosis is associated with improved survival among CRC patients.Peer reviewe