Grass-fed* Goodness
In New Zealand our cows graze on lush green pastures. Grass is a natural food source for cows and New Zealand has the ideal natural environment for growing it.
Our New Zealand farmers partner with experts to grow healthy, nutrient-rich grass. Because healthy cows make milk that’s full of goodness. Better for them. Better for your recipes.
Natural food source
Grass, including grass silage, hay and forage crops, is a natural food source for cows and our New Zealand environment is ideal for growing grass.
Grass-fed* cows
Our cows consume 96% of their diet as grass*, and spend over 350 days of a year on pasture, which is more than anywhere else in the world. **
No GMO
All feed grown in New Zealand for our cows is not from genetically modified plants; New Zealand has strict laws against breeding and growing genetically modified plants.
Third-party certified
Our New Zealand milk is third-party certified against our Fonterra Trusted Goodness Scheme annually by AsureQuality, an independent Conformity Assessment Body (CAB).
*96% is an average calculated on an ‘as consumed’ basis. The average is measured over our previous three seasons data. Grass-fed means cows mainly grazing on grass and crops in paddocks where they roam. Visit Fonterra.com/grass-fed for more information
**Of the top 15 dairy exporting countries (based on annual dairy product export volumes in 2023 and including New Zealand), only Ireland operates a similar pasture-based model to New Zealand. Data in the study, O'Brien et al. 2018, shows that Irish dairy cows have access to pasture, on average, 255 days per year. The Bord Bia (Irish Food Board) 2023 statistics show an average of 240 days on pasture. Fonterra’s annual data shows that on average, in New Zealand, our farmers' cows spend more than 350 days grazing outside on pasture.
Fresh grass makes our butter golden
Our grass-fed New Zealand cows make delicious butter with a creamy golden colour thanks to the beta-carotene in our grass. Full of goodness for your recipes.
