McIvor to step down in July
Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive Sam McIvor will step down in July.
The environment is a big area where sheep and beef farmers need a lot more support, says Beef + Lamb NZ chairman James Parsons.
BLNZ spends a lot more than just on promotion and is constantly revising priorities.
“Environment has definitely been a big area where sheep and beef farmers have needed a lot more support as they engage in environmental discussions on water quality in particular,” says Parsons. “We have upped the investment there and as a consequence the investment in promotional money has been reduced over time.
“Pressures around the environment are not going away. There are a whole lot of licence-to-farm type activities that farmers need a stronger voice on. We are looking at how we balance our requirements. We need to look at getting more people into agriculture through promoting farming as a career path so there are a lot of significant areas we could invest in and need to invest in.”
But that needs to be balanced with requirements in the market as well. $2m a year is invested in market access activities to try to reduce some of the $318m a year in tariffs that farmers pay.
Third-year student Cady Burns has won the Waikato Regional Council Prize in Water Science for 2024.
The Rural Change programme, providing free private mental health professional sessions to the rural industry, is set to continue its next chapter within Rural Support Trust from 1 July 2024.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand chief executive Sam McIvor will step down in July.
A new report shows farm employers across the dairy, sheep and beef, and arable sectors have continued to invest strongly in one of their greatest assets – their staff.
The country’s 4200 commercial fruit and vegetable growers will vote from May 14 on a new HortNZ levy.