NZ/UK contractor exchange scheme
A new partnership to try and help solve the labour shortage gap for rural contractors in both NZ and the UK has recently been established.
The new presidential team leading Rural Contractors New Zealand (RCNZ) says the organisation plays an invaluable role educating and up-skilling contractors and promoting their interests.
At its annual conference in Masterton last month, the RCNZ board elected Southland contractor David Kean to be its new president and Waikato contractor Helen Slattery as its new vice-president.
Kean has been on the RCNZ board since 2009 and served as vice-president for the past five years.
Slattery has been on the board for six years and serves on a number of the RCNZ’s subcommittees including health and safety, training and biosecurity.
Both are second-generation contractors. In 2003, Kean took over the sheep dipping and weed spraying business his father Leo started in 1966. In 2016, his two sons, Jarrod and Nicol, joined him in the business.
Helen and her husband Roger Slattery now run the Matamata contracting business that Roger’s father and uncle started in the mid-1950s.
The Slatterys also operate a collection service and compacting unit for Plasback, which recycles waste silage film throughout NZ.
The legacy of Dr Peter Snow continues to inspire as the recipients of the 2023 and 2024 Peter Snow Memorial Awards were announced at the recent National Rural Health Conference.
One of Fonterra’s global customers, Mars is launching an ambitious sustainable dairy plan to work with dairy farmers and cut emissions by 50%.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive for the past eight years, Sam McIvor is heading for new pastures at Ospri, which runs NZ’s integrated animal disease management and traceability service.
The world's largest wool scouring facility, WoolWorks Awatoto plant in Napier, is back operating at full capacity.
A year on and the problems created by Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle has largely dropped off the radar of media and politicians.
Feeling forgotten and in a fragile space financially and mentally.
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