Rewarding farmers who embrace sustainability
Winners of DairyNZ’s Sustainability and Stewardship awards in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards have their eyes firmly fixed on progressing a positive future for New Zealand dairy.
THE new chairman of DairyNZ, Michael Spaans says farmers are facing challenges on several fronts.
"This is a challenging time for dairy farmers with the low milk price, the ongoing pressures of compliance and the constant community scrutiny of dairy farming," says Spaans.
"We are lifting our game but accelerating the pace of change in our industry has to be managed with the wellbeing of everyone in mind, including farmers and rural communities.
"DairyNZ is funded by farmers for farmers and all of the work we do is aimed at helping them succeed in their quest to farm competitively and responsibly," says Spaans.
Spaans was elected chairman of the industry good organisation at a special meeting of the board on Saturday.
He will serve an annual term as chair, leading an eight-member board, made up of five farmer-elected and three independent directors.
Spaans replaces long-serving chairman and former Cabinet minister John Luxton who retired from the DairyNZ board last month after 12 years of service on dairy industry bodies.
A dairy farmer from Te Aroha in the Waikato, Spaans is also a director of Fonterra.
He also has farming interests in Canterbury, Chile and the US; he also sits on the board of ASB Bank and is a chartered member of the Institute of Directors.
Spaans said there was interest in the role.
"That was a positive sign and we took the time to run a robust process to elect a chair."
Fonterra has cemented its position as the country’s number one cheesemaker by picking up nine NZ Champion of Cheese trophies this year.
New Zealand dairy processors are welcoming the Government’s commitment to continuing to push for Canada to honour its trade commitments.
An educational programme, set up by Beef + Land New Zealand, to connect farmers virtually with primary and intermediate school students has reported the successful completion of its second year.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has welcomed a resolution adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to declare 2026 International Year of the Woman Farmer.
Waikato herd health veterinarian Katrina Roberts is the 2024 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
Horticulture NZ chief executive Nadine Tunley will step down in August.