Mark Hooper Joins NZPork Board as Independent Director
Rural leader Mark Hooper has been appointed as an independent director to the NZPork board, bringing extensive farming, governance and advocacy experience to the role.
Ham has been named New Zealand’s most popular meat for the 2021 Christmas feast.
The result comes as part of the Great Kiwi Christmas Survey which is run by Retail Meat New Zealand in conjunction with Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
The poll of over 3,300 Kiwis covers a range of Christmas traditions and debates, and this year saw pork take the lead with 36.2% of the vote – up 3.2% on 2020.
Lamb follows closely at 31.2% with beef at 10.9%.
David Baines, chief executive of NZ Pork says he isn’t surprised that, following a year of Covid-19 induced lockdowns, Kiwis are excited to come together with friends and family to celebrate.
“The holiday season is a time to celebrate – to catch-up with friends and family you may not have seen for a while, to share food and spend time together. New Zealand ham is the centrepiece of many Kiwi family Christmas tables and it’s no surprise why, it’s a delicious, traditional favourite that guarantees plenty of leftovers to enjoy in the days following,” he says.
Of those polled, 61.2% of respondents expect to have at least 1-2 days of leftovers, only 4.3% manage to eat it all in one day.
56% of Kiwis will be having two meals on Christmas day, with the majority sharing the day’s festivities with over 10 people (30.7%).
Farmer-owned fertiliser company, Ballance Agri Nutrients is welcoming National’s plan to negotiate security agreements with key supplier countries to protect New Zealand-bound products from export restrictions and greater supply chain certainty.
Carrfields has announced the appointment of Stu Hall to the newly created role of chief operating officer, Carrfields Ltd, reflecting the continued growth of their agribusinesses and the need to ensure the company has the leadership capacity and support in place as it pursues the emerging opportunities ahead.
New Zealand's role is not to compete with Indian growers, according to NZ Apples and Pears.
The potato industry is celebrating the success of two rising stars - James Blair, the 2026 Young Grower of the Year and runner-up and innovation award winner, Amber Davy.
Twenty-eight emerging leaders from across the horticulture sector spent two days last month learning valuable skills and connecting with industry experts.
There are five entrants in this year’s Young Horticulturist of the Year, competing in a series of technical, practical, business and leadership challenges.

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