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.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) has appointed Bayden Barber as an independent board director.
Barber farms Angus cattle on a 100-acre block in Waimārama, Hawke’s Bay, and is chairman of Waimārama Section 3 Block 2 Trust, which consists of forestry and dry stock farming.
He is also a trustee of the Tiakitai Estate, which is leased to Horizon Farms.
A Hastings District councillor, Barber and his wife Myra run a consulting business, Ipurangi Developments Limited.
He is a member of the Hawke’s Bay Rural Advisory Group and a director of Health Hawke’s Bay Limited, a Primary Health Organisation.
Barber is also a member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors, sits on the board of Te Taura Whiri o Te Reo Māori (Māori Language Commission) and is a trustee on the Māori Education Trust, representing the New Zealand Māori Council.
He is of Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāpuhi and Ngāi Tahu descent.
B+LNZ chairman Andrew Morrison says he welcomes the appointment.
“Bayden will bring an excellent mix of governance, rural expertise, business acumen and cultural capability to support Beef + Lamb New Zealand to achieve our strategic goals and objectives,” Morrison says.
“I would also like to acknowledge the excellent contribution made by Melissa Clark-Reynolds over her term as an independent director.”
The independent director position is designed to bring independent judgement and outside experience to the board.
B+LNZ’s current board is composed of six farmer-elected directors, who are regionally representative, two meat industry appointees, and an independent director.
Barber commences his role on 1 February 2021.
A blockbuster year and an exciting performance: that's how Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Director General, Ray Smith is describing the massive upsurge in the fortunes of the primary sector exports for the year ended June 2025.
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.
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…