The article highlights a key trend in data journalism as it exposes a major shift in the financial world. Major banks from the US and Europe, including JP Morgan, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, and Barclays, have been leaving the alliance due to mounting political pressure and lawsuits. Federated Farmers has been actively campaigning for New Zealand’s major agricultural lenders—BNZ, ANZ, ASB, Westpac, and Rabobank—to follow suit and exit the pact.

This move is a critical point for dairy economics as the article notes that these banks have previously referenced their alliance obligations in their internal policies. This has influenced their lending decisions for farmers, creating what Federated Farmers describes as an unfair burden on the food supply chain. With the alliance’s suspension, the organization is now calling on New Zealand banks to “do the right thing” and base their lending decisions on the farmers’ merits, rather than an “international activist agenda.”

The report also mentions a strategic partnership between Federated Farmers and AgriHQ to provide a more unified and powerful voice for New Zealand’s farmers. This collaboration is designed to ensure that the concerns of the agribusiness sector are heard at both a national and international level. This proactive approach underscores the commitment of the dairy industry to shape its own destiny and fight against what it sees as overregulation by financial institutions.