DairyNZ Celebrates Women Leaders on International Women’s Day
DairyNZ Chair Tracy Brown has seen a lot of change since she first started out in the dairy sector, with around one-third of dairy farmers now women.
Dairy farmers have returned Jim van der Poel and Colin Glass as DairyNZ directors for another three-year term.
Van der Poel, who chairs the industry-good organisation and Glass, chief executive of Dairy Holdings Ltd, saw off a challenge from young Ashburton farmer Cole Groves in this year’s director elections.
The result was announced at DairyNZ’s annual meeting in Ashburton last night.
Van der Poel thanked farmers for their continued support.
With his Sue, van der Poel has farming interests in Waikato, Southland, Canterbury and in the US.
He has served on the boards of Fonterra, Fonterra Shareholders Fund and New Zealand Cooperative Dairies. He has also received numerous industry awards including Sharemilker of the Year, Dairy Exporter Primary Performer Award and a Nuffield Scholarship.
Glass and his wife Paula, with their two teenage daughters, own a 670-cow dairy farm, and two further irrigated properties rearing and finishing bull beef at Methven, Mid-Canterbury.
Colin heads Dairy Holdings Limited which has extensive operations throughout the South Island. He is a director of several agri-business companies and is currently chairman of Ashburton Lyndhurst Irrigation Limited.
Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director.
Ravensdown's next evolution in smart farming technology, HawkEye Pro, was awarded the Technology Section Award at the Southern Field Days Farm Innovation Awards in February 2026.
While mariners may recognise a “dog watch” as a two-hour shift on a ship, the Good Dog Work Watch is quite a different concept and the clever creation of Southland siblings Grace (9) and Archer Brown (7), both pupils at Riverton Primary School.
Philip and Lyneyre Hooper of the Hoopman Family Trust have tonight been named the Taranaki Regional Supreme Winners at the Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
We are not a bunch of sky cowboys. That was one of the key messages from the chairperson of the NZ Agricultural Aviation Association (NZAAA) Kent Weir, speaking at an education day at Feilding aerodrome for 25 policymakers and regulators from central and local government and other rural professionals.
New Zealand's dairy and beef industries say they welcome the announcement that the Government will invest $10.49 million in the Dairy Beef Opportunities (DBO) programme.