McRae Wins Southern South Island B+LNZ Director Vote
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.
Beef + Lamb NZ directors are in line for a pay rise this year.
A resolution calling for an increase in total director fees is before livestock farmers.
The resolution recommends a 4% increase in the chairman’s fee and 2% rise in director fee: it also proposes a $20,000 pool for additional responsibility taken on by directors.
According to B+LNZ 2019 annual report, board chairman Andrew Morrison received $70,000; each director received $30,000.
Voting is now open: results will be announced at B+LNZ annual meeting in New Plymouth on March 26.
Another resolution before levy-paying farmers is appointing KPMG as auditor for this financial year.
To be eligible to vote, a livestock farmer must, on 30 June 2019, have owned at least 250 sheep, or 50 beef cattle, or 100 dairy cattle
There are no director elections this year: sitting directors Andrew Morrison (Southern South Island) and George Tatham (Eastern North Island) are being returned unopposed.
This week, more than 100 farmers, policy makers, politicians and other industry influencers will gather at the annual Dairy Environment Leaders (DEL) Forum to workshop positive environmental change for New Zealand dairy.
Fonterra says its interim results show continued momentum in its performance, with revenue of $13.9 billion in the first half of the 2026 financial year.
New Zealand's diverse cheesemaking talent shone brightly last night as the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) crowned the champions of the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.

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