increase font size
MIE chairman John McCarthy
MEAT INDUSTRY Excellence (MIE) chairman John McCarthy is urging farmers to vote for Fiona Hancox in their upcoming election.
Hancox, a long time Silver Fern Farms shareholder and supplier has recently resigned from MIE's executive committee and is planning to put her name forward for nomination in this year's SFF elections.
McCarthy says as a founding member of MIE, Hancox has worked tirelessly to improve outcomes for farmers and co-op shareholders and would serve SFF well.
"SFF shareholders can be in no doubt that they will have, on their ballot paper, a true champion for industry reform and improved farmer returns, as well as a very successful sheep and beef farmer, well qualified to be an excellent director," says McCarthy.
According to McCarthy, despite delays to the SFF elections and AGM, MIE invited Hancox to take part in its upcoming farmer meetings. McCarthy says that farmer engagement and participation in their co-ops and the industry remained the decisive factor and it is important that interested parties had a chance to meet candidates that shared a vision for industry reform.
"We're at a tipping point. Farmers' high level of engagement last year in Co-op elections sent a message to our boards. As a result, we've seen some improvement, but we need to continue to refresh these boards to go on with the job," says McCarthy.
"Without a continued signal for change from farmers on their ballot forms, there's no guarantee this momentum will continue."
McCarthy says that Hancox's resignation from MIE came as a loss to the group, but he recognised her enormous contribution, and extensive work on building grassroots knowledge about industry issues.
OPINION: The Hound hears that tension was in the air at the recent Silver Fern Farms AGM, with the board reportedly dazed and confused at why their CEO would continue to hammer farmers to lower their emissions in perpetuity, without being able to state a dollar value for any of the touted premiums.
Despite Silver Fern Farms (SFF) posting a $21 million loss last season, chief executive Dan Boulton believes that better days are coming.
Variable weather conditions across the country are being blamed for the slow start to the meat processing season.
OPINION: It's time to fight back against Silver Fern Farms’ emissions agenda.
Meat exporter Silver Fern Farms Ltd has told farmer suppliers that its proposed scope 3 emissions reduction targets won’t pick on individual farms.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says the 2025 Fieldays has been one of more positive he has attended.
A fundraiser dinner held in conjunction with Fieldays raised over $300,000 for the Rural Support Trust.
Recent results from its 2024 financial year has seen global farm machinery player John Deere record a significant slump in the profits of its agricultural division over the last year, with a 64% drop in the last quarter of the year, compared to that of 2023.
An agribusiness, helping to turn a long-standing animal welfare and waste issue into a high-value protein stream for the dairy and red meat sector, has picked up a top innovation award at Fieldays.
The Fieldays Innovation Award winners have been announced with Auckland’s Ruminant Biotech taking out the Prototype Award.
Following twelve years of litigation, a conclusion could be in sight of Waikato’s controversial Plan Change 1 (PC1).
OPINION: The Greens aren’t serious people when it comes to the economy, so let’s not spend too much on their…
OPINION: PM Chris Luxon is getting pinged lately for rolling out the old 'we're still a new government' line when…
