This year John Wilson, Ashley Waugh and Nicola Shadbolt retire by rotation. They may all stand for re-election if they wish – none have announced their intentions at this stage.The Independent Nomination Process will be run first with a nomination period of Friday, 6 to Monday, 23 July 2018.The Returning Officer will announce the Independent Nomination Process candidates on Monday, 10 September 2018.The Self-Nomination Process, where farmers can put themselves forward as a candidate for the Board outside the Independent Nomination Process, will follow with the nomination period running from Monday, 10 to Thursday, 20 September 2018.The Returning Officer will confirm all Farmer Directors’ Election candidates on Monday, 24 September 2018.The Directors’ Election will be held using the ‘first past the post majority’ system via postal and online voting by Fonterra shareholders. The Independent Selection Panel search brief along with the Candidate Handbook are now available from the Returning Officer. These documents provide prospective Director candidates with information on all aspects of the Election process including details of the skills and attributes that the Board is looking for in 2018.Nominations for the Shareholders’ Council and Directors’ Remuneration Committee Elections will be called in September.Fonterra shareholders are eligible to stand for the Fonterra Elections. Candidates must satisfy eligibility requirements to be elected and further procedural requirements are specified in the Election rules.