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.

Young Farmers prepare for Grand Final

New Zealand’s best young farmers are pledging to ‘leave it all on the table’ as they prepare to battle it out at one of New Zealand’s most prestigious farming contests.

Young farmers shine at regional finals

Grand Finalists have been selected, all regional finals have concluded, and the journey towards the FMG Young Farmer of the Year Grand Final is underway.

Featured

Brendan Attrill scoops national award for sustainable farming

Brendan Attrill of Caiseal Trust in Taranaki has been announced as the 2025 National Ambassador for Sustainable Farming and Growing and recipient of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy at the National Sustainability Showcase at in Wellington this evening.

National

Machinery & Products

Farming smarter with technology

The National Fieldays is an annual fixture in the farming calendar: it draws in thousands of farmers, contractors, and industry…

RainWave set to cause a splash

Traditional spreading via tankers or umbilical systems have typically discharged effluent onto splash-plates, resulting in small droplet sizes, which in…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Misguided campaign

OPINION: Last week, Greenpeace lit up Fonterra's Auckland headquarters with 'messages from the common people' - that the sector is…

Fieldays goes urban

OPINION: Once upon a time the Fieldays were for real farmers, salt of the earth people who thrived on hard…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter