Friday, 13 March 2026 16:41

McRae Wins Southern South Island B+LNZ Director Vote

Written by  Staff Reporters

Matt McRae, a farmer from Mokoreta in Southland who runs a sheep, beef and dairy support business alongside a sheep stud, has been elected to the Beef +Lamb NZ Board as a farmer director. 

McRae received 5,104 weighted votes. Glen McDonald received 1,552 weighted votes and Simon Davies received 811 weighted votes.  

B+LNZ Board Chair Kate Acland congratulated McRae, noting he is currently Chair of B+LNZ’s Southern South Island Farmer Council. 

“Matt is already highly engaged with the organisation and I look forward to him bringing new ideas and energy to the Board table. 

“I’d also like to thank Glen and Simon for standing for election. It’s heartening to see such a high calibre of candidates put themselves forward.” 

Turnout for the director election was 15.95 percentwhich is on par with comparable organisations. 

Current Southern South Island farmer director Geoffrey Young is retiring at the annual meeting.  

“At that time, we’ll formally farewell and thank Geoffrey for his service to the organisation. He has been a strong advocate for sheep and beef farming interests in the deep South and has brought a collaborative approach to Board discussions.” 

Results of other voting – Company resolutions to increase director fees and to appoint an auditor – will follow the annual meeting on Wednesday (18 March).

More like this

Red meat rebound

The red meat sector is poised for a strong rebound this season, with export receipts forecast to top $10 billion and farm profitability to almost double.

The future of beef breeding

Progeny testing at Pāmu’s Kepler farm in Southland as part of Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Informing New Zealand Beef programme is showing that the benefits of hybrid vigour could have a massive impact on the future of beef breeding.

Methane targets disappoint farmers

Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) has reiterated calls for New Zealand to revise its methane targets after the Government's "disappointing" announcement of its revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

Featured

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Silly Season

OPINION: Election years are usually regarded as the silly season, but a mate of the Hound reckons 2026 is shaping…

Two-Faced System

OPINION: If farmers poured just a few litres of some pollutant into a stream, the Green Party and the wider…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter