Silver Fern Farms is continuing with plans to change its governance structure even though the proposed partnership with PGG Wrightson is history.
The Dunedin meat co-operative still proposes reducing its board from 12 directors to eight, as outlined during the partnership.
But the process forselecting those directors has changed.
Shareholders were being told at a series of meetings that started this week an eight-person board would have three directors elected by farmers without a ward system, two appointed by a shareholder's council, and three who were independent.
Under the proposed partnership with PGG Wrightson (PGG-W), the board would have had four directors from PGG-W and four elected by farmer shareholders.
Shareholder Howie Gardner told a meeting of about 50 shareholders at the Finegand freezing works near Balclutha on Monday three independent directors was one too many, and they could end up with too much control.
Silver Fern Farms chairman Eoin Garden said it was up to the board to choose the right independent directors, and the company's constitution protected shareholders' rights.
With the shareholders council choosing two directors, five of the eight directors would be selected by shareholders.
Former company chairman Robbie Burnside asked whether PGG-W chairman Craig Norgate would be a candidate for an independent seat, to which Mr Garden said no-one had been considered or approached.
"No names, no individuals. The board hasn't considered any of those."
