Jessie Chan appointed to NZPork board

Chan, who lives in Rakaia in mid-Canterbury, also serves on the board of Bioprotection Aotearoa and is a Trustee of Meat the Need. Previously, she held positions on the boards of Ngāi Tahu Farming, Alpine Energy, Connetics, Business Mid Canterbury and Federated Farmers Mid Canterbury. She was also an associate director with DairyNZ.

This year, Chan was named a member of the NZ Order of Merit for services to dairy and agriculture. In 2017, she was named Dairy Woman of the Year and received the Women in Governance Award for Inspiring Governance Leader in 2021.

She says she is excited to be joining the NZPork board.

“This is a challenging time for pig farmers and the industry. The sector has significant concerns about the impractical regulations in the draft Code of Welfare and a growing wave of imported pork produced using practices that are illegal in this country,” she says.

“NZPork is certainly up for the challenge, advocating hard on behalf of our farmers and pressing for food security to be maintained for all New Zealanders.”

Chan says the New Zealand pork sector is small but proud with a strong environmental record.

“It is important to ensure that the sector can thrive and that pig farmers can continue to provide nutritious high quality New Zealand born and raised pork, farmed to high welfare standards.”

Former National MP and Deputy Speaker Eric Roy has been re-appointed as an independent director and chairman of NZPork.