New Feds dairy chair backs 'sensible change'

He takes over from Wayne Langford, who was elected as Feds vice president at the farmer lobby's annual meeting earlier this month.

Until he took on the role of chair, McIntyre had been its vice chair and before that the chair of the Feds sharemilker section. McIntyre and his wife Emma are sharemilkers on a dairy farm just north of the Horowhenua township of Levin.

He told Dairy News his journey in the Federated Farmers started nine years ago when he took on the role of chairing the Manawatū/Rangitikei sharemilkers section and says he's now looking forward to his new role which he says will give him an opportunity to put forward some of his own ideas.

McIntyre says there's a lot of discussion around the changes taking place in the dairy industry and there are many farmers who are uncomfortable about some of what is taking place. But he says change is a feature of the evolution of the dairy industry which has been driven by farmers and largely supported by society. He says the change has occurred because of the need to feed the global population as well as support the NZ economy.

"But we are now in an era when greater change is being demanded by society.

"I see my role and the role of the dairy section within Feds to advocate for and to lead this change in a way and at a pace that brings everyone with us.

"So this about selecting the correct direction in the first pace, but then ensuring that the form and speed of that change brings everyone along.

"I think there is danger at the moment with some of the policy that is out there and the way it is being implemented is going to make it hard for some farmers to come on the journey. My goal is about advocating for sensible change," he says.

One of the big issues McIntyre says the dairy industry has to solve is attracting more people to work on farm.

He says when he was just out of school and looking for a job he was attracted to the dairy industry because he saw it in an altruistic light - the chance to work in a sector that helped feed the world. He saw working in the dairy industry as an opportunity to make a positive contribution to society.

But McIntyre says today some of the narrative around the dairy industry is negative, with claims that it is contributing to climate change and the degradation of waterways.

He says such comments can even get the best dairy farmers down.

"I was at the Dairy Industry Awards some months ago and a government minister came up to me and said, 'we don't say this enough, but thank you so much for what you do'.

"That was really nice, but I wish it was said more often."

McIntyre says as well as encouraging more New Zealanders to go farming, there is a need for the Government to change the immigration settings. He says such is the competition for staff, that when you hire someone, you are effectively stealing them from someone in your industry or someone in another sector.

Sharemilking Here To Stay

Most Federated Farmers board members are established farmers who own their farmers but Richard McIntyre is an exception to that.

He and his wife Emma are sharemilkers on a 200 hectare property on state highway one, just north of Levin. They milk 450 cows, rear 600 calves and raise beef on a block they lease nearby. Their herd calves twice a year.

They have been sharemilking for 14 years and are working towards buying their own farm in the future. They employ three staff and McIntyre says growing the business to the point when they could employ staff was part of a de-risking strategy.

"We wanted to add a bit of diversification so if the milk price was low we had other income streams from the calf rearing and beef side of it. It was about having others around so thaf if I got sick or if a single staff member left, I had cover for such eventualities," he says.

McIntyre is a strong advocate of the sharemilking system and is confident that the system will survive despite the many changes taking place in the dairy industry.

He says it offers an excellent pathway to farm ownership and also benefits farm owners who take on sharemilkers. He says, by leasing the farm out, owners are relieved of having to deal with some of the changes taking place that impact on farming operations.

With his new role, McIntyre will have to take some time away from the farm. In this regard he says he's very grateful for the support and understanding of the farm owners, Brian and Wendy Klisby. He says they see the value in the work and advocacy he is doing on behalf of other farmers and have been supportive of his new role.

"What I hope to achieve as chair of the dairy section, during this period of rapid change, is advocating for the pace of change to be such that all farmers can effectively manage their way through it and that the industry remains profitable for individual farmers and the country."