increase font size
Bruce Wills.
Former Federated Farmers president Bruce Wills is making a bid for a seat on the Ravensdown board.
It’s his first major step into the public arena since he stepped down from his role with the Feds over a year ago.
Wills told Rural News he has deliberately stayed out of the public eye for the past year to give the new Feds board time to settle in without the distraction of a former president making headlines. But he says the time is now right to make a move.
“The opportunity has now come about and the Ravensdown seat is the one I have watched for some time,” Wills says.
“The incumbent, Patrick Willock, has been on the board 15 years and I thought he may have stood down. He’s been there a long time and if he were successful this year that would make it 19 years on the board, which in my view is really stretching it.
“I’ve been a long and loyal shareholder of Ravensdown, but have watched with some concern over a number of years its performance compared with Balance; at the moment Ballance is moving ahead.”
Wills says Ballance has gained 2000 more shareholders in the last two years – mainly at Ravensdown’s expense. He believes the rebates paid by Ballance are much better than Ravensdown’s. He says he would have gained $18,000 in rebates for the fertiliser he has applied on his farm from Ballance – as opposed to no rebate that year from Ravensdown.
“[Ravensdown] has performance issues. With my commercial environmental, science and water interests I feel I have a lot to offer.”
Wills serves in governance roles on the QEII Trust, the Willow Research Trust and Todd Foundation and – ironically – the Ballance Farm Environment Awards Trust.
Other Ravensdown seats in contest will be Northland, Southland and East Coast. The results will be announced at the co-op’s annual meeting in mid-September.
Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.
A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.
North Otago farmer Jane Smith is standing for the Ravensdown South Island director seat.
Federated Farmers says the final report into banking competition is a significant step forward for rural New Zealand - and a vindication of the farming sector's concern.
Farmer lobby group Federated Farmers has announced it is supporting a new Member’s Bill which it says could bring clarity to New Zealand farmers and save millions in legal costs.
Phoebe Scherer, a technical manager from the Bay of Plenty, has won the 2025 Young Grower of the Year national title.
The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.
Award-winning boutique cheese company, Cranky Goat Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.
A tiny organism from the arid mountains of mainland Greece is facilitating a new way of growing healthier animals on farms across New Zealand.
