Thursday, 13 September 2018 07:55

First woman head for NZ Young Farmers

Written by 
NZYF chief executive Lynda Coppersmith. NZYF chief executive Lynda Coppersmith.

Agribusiness leader Lynda Coppersmith has been appointed the first woman chief executive of NZ Young Farmers, from October 1.

Coppersmith (48) is currently a senior account manager with the accounting software company MYOB in Christchurch.

“The more woman chief executives we have the better; diversity is important,” she says.

“If the primary industries are to meet growth targets, they must connect with young women.”

“I’m hoping my appointment and having Ash-Leigh chairing our board will send a positive signal to women about our sector,” she says.

She has spent the past six years in management positions at MYOB. Prior to that she worked for DairyNZ, was a business development manager for LIC and an area manager for Fonterra in Timaru.

“Lynda has great relationship building skills, excellent business acumen and experience dealing with grassroots farmer issues,” said NZ Young Farmers board chair Ash-Leigh Campbell.

“That will stand her in good stead working with our membership and the organisation’s other key stakeholders.”

Coppersmith is married with two teenage children. Her daughter Sophie attends Christchurch Girls’ High School and has friends in the school’s TeenAg club which is run by NZ Young Farmers.

Outside of work, Coppersmith likes to travel and study.

“We’ve spent a bit of time travelling through Southeast Asia and we’ve lived in Australia,” she says.

Coppersmith is completing an MBA through the University of Canterbury.

More like this

Jersey 'right balance' field day

The future of sustainable, profitable and environmentally friendly dairying will be on full display at the upcoming 'The Right Balance' field day at NZ Young Farmers' Donald Farm in South Auckland.

Road to grand final continues

The first FMG Young Farmer of the Year Regional Final will kick off at the Helensville Showgrounds this Saturday.

Featured

Sharemilkers Credit DairyBase Tool for Staffing Decisions

Signing up to a benchmarking tool is not about competition, but about improving collectively, says Ximena Puig and Alvaro Luzardo who are 50-50 sharemilkers at a 164-hectare (effective) dairy farm in Eketāhuna in the Lower North Island.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Irish Dilemma

OPINION: The Irish dairy sector is facing a new dilemma - maintaining year-round fresh milk supplies.

Beef Cows To The Rescue

OPINION: Could beef cows play an increasingly important role in improving profitability and resilience on hill country farms?

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter