State farmer pays tribute to Dr Warren Parker

Pamu chief executive Mark Leslie said that “a great tree has fallen”.

Leslie says Parker was a highly respected primary sector leader and as Pāmu board chairperson, he made significant contributions to the organisation over his five years of dedicated service.

“It was an honour for me to have had Warren as a lecturer at Massey University nearly 30 years ago and then work shoulder-to-shoulder with his guidance and support when I joined Pāmu as CEO just under two years ago.

“Warren will be remembered for his vision, wisdom, and experience as well as his kindness which together have ensured a strong culture and clear strategic path for our organisation.”

Parker was appointed as chair of the Pāmu board on 1 January 2019. He was a former chief executive of Scion (the NZ Forest Research Institute) and Landcare Research and was previously chief operating officer of AgResearch. He held several board roles including on Predator Free 2050 Ltd, Farmlands Co-operative Society, Genomics Aotearoa and was the chair of the Forestry Ministerial Advisory Group. He was also chair of the New Zealand Conservation Authority and recently appointed independent chair of Quayside Holdings.

Parker had a PhD in animal science and was previously a professor of agribusiness and resource management at Massey University, where he spent 18 years in various roles, including supervising the 9,000-stock unit Riverside Farm in the Wairarapa.

Pamu deputy chair Nigel Atherfold has stepped in as interim chairperson.