Agri sector ‘waking up’ to governance

The agri sector is starting to “wake up” to the value of good governance, says chief executive Simon Arcus.  The institute recently launched a ‘Rural Governance Essentials’ course, with the trial in Invercargill booked out.  Dairy farmers made up 43% of the attendees.

Courses are now planned for Christchurch on October 27, Palmerston North on November 10 – the first time the institute has done a course in Palmerston North - and Hamilton on November 24.

Arcus told Rural News the rural sector has long insisted on the need for a course tailored to the rural environment. The institute had seen the climate changing for the health of the sector and thought it was time to get in and do something.

“Governance is one of those mystifying words, and our aim is to demystify it,” he says.

“The courses are open to everyone… running their own rural businesses or interested in becoming directors in that area. The principles of governance apply across all types of business but sometimes the learning and interaction can be enhanced by being from the same sector.”

People in the room share stories and experiences. “It is not one-way traffic when it comes to the facilitating; we like to have people as involved in the conversation as they can be. Anyone from the sector has challenges and successes they like to share and contribute.”

The institute started the courses in regions with strong demand, but will look at other regions; the principles of good governance apply to all agricultural sectors. Topics include succession planning, farm safety, risk management and whether or not you should have an independent director.  All those things will have rural nuances or rural relevance, Arcus says. 

“Tough times are good times to look at governance, though it seems counter-intuitive when, for instance, dairy farmers now have a lot of other things on their minds. When you talk about governance you talk about long term strategic planning…. So if we are going to look beyond the horizon the best time to start is now.”

The courses are perpetuating their own demand. “We are picking up strong demand for farm safety, farm governance training and financial training, which is coming out of the basic financial stuff we look at on the day. That is busting myths about how farmers take health and safety. People on the courses are really interested in making that a feature of their business.”

He says 100% of the people who did the course in Invercargill say they would recommend it. “It was great to see it was hitting the mark,” he says.

“We have learned through the courses that farmers are also good managers. They are dealing at times with sophisticated businesses these days. There are multi-investor syndicates, intergenerational family relationships, shareholders, share milking – all unique to the industry; that’s why the course is working as well as it is.”

They will look at where the need is for future courses. 

“Coming through strongly are succession planning, financial management and health and safety, where we could think about doing more.”