Silver Fern Farms meat co-operative is removing one of the costs that its South Island stock suppliers have had to carry.
From next week, the co-operative will pay the the full cost of livestock cartage in the South Island - the same transport deal it gives farmers in the North Island.
Silver Fern said a number of South Island companies currently pay all cartage in the North Island, so it is logical to be consistent across the country,
Chief executive Keith Cooper said the change will also create more price transparency in the South Island, where some companies had been using cartage payments as supply inducements.
He said some suppliers will see it as subsidising farmers in more remote areas, but it also paves the way for coordinated management of livestock transport, with the potential for further cost cutting and efficiencies.
