Government appoints three new directors to Pāmu board
The Government has appointed three new members to the board of state farmer Landcorp Farming Ltd, trading as Pāmu.
STATE-OWNED FARMER Landcorp is seeking to make subtle but significant changes to its strategic direction.
Outlining the changes to Rural News, chief executive Steven Carden said the SOE wants people to realise there is a direct correlation between a strong Landcorp and a strong New Zealand farming sector.
Directors and staff know about the proposed changes, due for further discussion during another strategy session at a board meeting in a few weeks.
Historically the organisation has been relatively inward looking, he says. Now he'd like to see Landcorp working more collaboratively with other partners and looking well beyond the farmgate and engaging with others.
Carden wants Landcorp to tell the good news stories about itself.
"We have focused very much on being big, whereas I want to focus very much on being the best. We are focused on asset growth whereas I would like us to be more focused on sustainable profitability.
"Sustaining the environment has been the focus historically, whereas I think we need to be looking at rejuvenating the environment. Farming's role in the context of the environment [should be] enhancing environmental outcomes rather than just minimising the impact on the environment.... Commercial returns [come] as a result of environmental rejuvenation."
Landcorp is seen as a good place to farm, Carden says. But he wants it regarded as the best place to work and one which gets people excited about agriculture.
"We are focused on driving the highest calibre people into farming and staying there in exciting dynamic careers. We have a big push on how to build the people coming into Landcorp and into the industry; it's critical to our future. Currently we are losing that battle and not getting sufficient graduates."
Carden envisages Landcorp focusing more on partnerships – including with iwi and other investors – modeled on the company managing rather than owning land. This happens now under its contracts with Shanghai Pengxin to manage the former Crafar farms and Wairakei Pastoral for the development of dairy farms in the central North Island.
Carden also wants to work with others on training and R&D projects to benefit the whole farming sector.
"But we will not be credible unless we are seen as a high quality farming enterprise across all sectors, driving a commercial return. So there are many areas in which we need to improve our performance to drive greater profitability and return on our assets.
"I want us to focus strongly on the value part of the equation – to extract the most value from the land we farm... looking beyond the farm to who's taking our product and where they are selling it, and how we can be more actively engaged in that." That includes looking at co-products. "We have farmed sheep for many years for wool and for meat; now I'd like us to start thinking about sheep milk... and rebuilding our drystock business."
A day after the ouster of PGG Wrightson’s chair and his deputy, the listed rural trader’s board has appointed John Nichol as the new independent chair.
Tributes are pouring in from across the political divide for former Prime Minister Jim Bolger who passed away, aged 90.
The iconic services building at National Fieldays' Mystery Creek site will be demolished to make way for a "contemporary replacement that better serves the needs of both the community and event organisers," says board chair Jenni Vernon.
Agri advisor Perrin Ag says its graduate recruitment programme continues to bring new talent into the agricultural sector.
Entries are open for the 2026 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (NZDIA).
As New Zealand marks International Day of Rural Women today, women from across the horticulture sector are calling attention to the crucial role they play in building a more sustainable, inclusive and climate-resilient industry.
OPINION: Ageing lefty Chris Trotter reckons that the decision to delay recognition of Palestinian statehood is more than just a fit…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly recently met someone at a BBQ who works at a big consulting firm who spent…