Body to leave Ruralco, Chan-Dorman chosen chair-elect
South Island rural service trader Ruralco says its chairman Alister Body has signalled his intention to step down from his role and pursue broader agribusiness interests.
The New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards Trust has a new chair- Mid-Canterbury dairy farmer and DairyNZ director Alister Body.
Body says a key focus of the Trust under his leadership will be to ensure the awards and its three contests – the New Zealand Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year, New Zealand Farm Manager of the Year and New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year – retain relevancy and competitor interest.
"The competitions are improving and evolving and that's really important. They also provide a great showcase of the dairy industry and give tremendous promotion of the value and benefits to be gained by participating in the dairy industry," he says.
"In a way we are victims of our success in that we have to find ways of dealing with larger numbers of entrants and greater numbers of people wanting to attend the events.
"It's a competition that is fuelling itself and it will continue to do so, so long as we are doing a good job."
The six-member Trust also includes Fonterra director Jim van der Poel, DairyNZ Director and 2008 New Zealand Sharemilker of the Year Ben Allomes, Federated Farmers dairy section chair Willy Leferink, and Federated Farmers sharemilkers section representatives Neil Filer and Ciaran Tully, also a former Auckland Hauraki Sharemilker of the Year winner.
"It's a great Trust and I feel privileged to be its chair."
Body takes over from Teresa Moore, who won the 2009 New Zealand Sharemilker of the Year.
The Dairy Industry Awards are supported by national sponsors Westpac, DairyNZ, Ecolab, Federated Farmers, Fonterra, Honda Motorcycles NZ, LIC, Meridian Energy, Ravensdown, RD1, Triplejump, along with industry partner Primary ITO.
Awards organisers, convenors and sponsors meet in Rotorua early next month to finalise preparations for the 2014 awards programme.
Entries will be received online at www.dairyindustryawards.co.nz from November 1.
Farmer-led charity, Meat the Need is calling for donations to enable it to supply more meals to families in need.
Weaker pricing and demand from China continue to impact New Zealand red meat export earnings.
Fonterra has cemented its position as the country’s number one cheesemaker by picking up nine NZ Champion of Cheese trophies this year.
New Zealand dairy processors are welcoming the Government’s commitment to continuing to push for Canada to honour its trade commitments.
An educational programme, set up by Beef + Land New Zealand, to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate school students has reported the successful completion of its second year.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.
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