Red meat rebound
The red meat sector is poised for a strong rebound this season, with export receipts forecast to top $10 billion and farm profitability to almost double.
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.
McRae received 5,104 weighted votes. Glen McDonald received 1,552 weighted votes and Simon Davies received 811 weighted votes.
B+LNZ Board Chair Kate Acland congratulated McRae, noting he is currently Chair of B+LNZ’s Southern South Island Farmer Council.
“Matt is already highly engaged with the organisation and I look forward to him bringing new ideas and energy to the Board table.
“I’d also like to thank Glen and Simon for standing for election. It’s heartening to see such a high calibre of candidates put themselves forward.”
Turnout for the director election was 15.95 percent, which is on par with comparable organisations.
Current Southern South Island farmer director Geoffrey Young is retiring at the annual meeting.
“At that time, we’ll formally farewell and thank Geoffrey for his service to the organisation. He has been a strong advocate for sheep and beef farming interests in the deep South and has brought a collaborative approach to Board discussions.”
Results of other voting – Company resolutions to increase director fees and to appoint an auditor – will follow the annual meeting on Wednesday (18 March).
The 2026 Holstein Friesian NZ Black & White Youth Auction has once again proven the strength of support behind the breed’s young people, raising $20,130 for the HFNZ Black & White Youth programme.
Westpac NZ has become the first New Zealand bank to receive approval from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) to secure and leverage kiwifruit growers' Zespri shares.
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) and Pāmu (Landcorp Farming Limited) have developed a new way for landowners to earn revenue from existing native forests.
Despite near universal optimism in the rural sector, a panel of New Zealand’s leading food and agri minds caution that the sector must be intentional about its future path.
The dairy industry cannot rest on its laurels despite providing one in every four export dollars earned by the country, says DairyNZ chief executive Campbell Parker.
The Government is looking at intervening on behalf of Waikato farmers who face new regulations around agricultural land use while Resource Management Act (RMA) reforms are underway.

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