King's birthday gong for King

Murray King, of Nelson, has been named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to the dairy industry.

"It's great actually to see that there are a number of people from the farming world on the list, for a change."

King told Dairy News the award was unexpected and he was just one of many people "out there doing our thing".

"But it's nice to be recognised and it's a big honour."

Describing himself as "easily bored", King said he would continue to work across a big range of interests in the agriculture sector, "from water management and storage through to development of rural leaders and things like that".

The citation notes that King has helped promote and develop New Zealand's dairy sector through multiple directorships, particularly in the Nelson/Tasman district.

A co-founder of the Appleby Farms ice cream brand, King and his wife farm several dairy properties in the North Canterbury and Nelson regions. He has championed innovation and collaboration through his directorships in several organisations, includng board chair of LIC from 2009 to 2023, the Cawthron Institute, and chair of Waimea Irrigators Limited since 2016.

He has supported a number of initiatives, including the 'To the Core' and Fonterra governance development programmes, environmental sustainability programmes, and the rapid response to the 2017 Mycoplasma bovis outbreak.

In 2001 he attended the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme and was a recipient of the Nuffield scholarship in 2003. Cooperative Business NZ named him Co-operative Leader of the Year in 2018, and awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023, for his leadership of LIC.

Also, in 2023 King became a Trustee of the New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust and Nuffield New Zealand, supporting the ongoing development of leaders for rural New Zealand.