Cooperative/Mutual of the Year

Cooperative/Mutual of the Year winner 2025

The Cooperative/Mutual of the Year Award recognises organisations that truly live the cooperative principles; returning real value to members, strengthening communities, and showing how business can be both successful and purpose-driven.

This year marks an extraordinary milestone –120 years since FMG was founded by farmers to protect farmers.

Over more than a century, FMG has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with rural New Zealand, and in 2024-25 it once again demonstrated why it remains a cornerstone of cooperative leadership.

Through its organisation-wide Programme Shepherd, FMG unlocked over $18 million in efficiencies, enabling $23 million in premium reductions for members – all achieved without a single job loss. This was cooperation in action: delivering tangible savings while strengthening resilience and long-term sustainability.

FMG also deepened its community impact, investing $2.2 million across more than 700 rural events and sponsorships, funding wellbeing initiatives through Farmstrong, supporting melanoma awareness with Spot Check Roadies, and celebrating ten years as principal sponsor of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Contest.

Its new strategy, Te Ara Tika 2030 | The Way Forward, and refreshed partnerships such as Be a Tidy Kiwi show that FMG’s leadership continues to evolve — blending commercial strength with environmental stewardship and community care.