McIntyre thanks farmers as he prepares to bow out of Feds
On the eve of his departure from Federated Farmers board, Richard McIntyre is thanking farmers for their support and words of encouragement during his stint as a farmer advocate.
Oamaru vet Dr Merlyn Hay, who in 2017 outed Mycoplasma bovis on an Oamaru dairy farm, won the premier award at the Feds conference.
She was one of several people recognised for outstanding contributions to the primary sector.
“I was just doing my job,” she told Rural News in response. “It’s very humbling and I’m not sure it’s entirely deserved.”
Hay says when she saw the unusual and distressing symptoms in the farm’s cows and calves she talked to colleagues, trying to brainstorm ideas and see the signs that would lead to an unusual diagnosis.
“I was encouraged by Associate Professor Richard Laven at Massey University that we shouldn’t rule out the possibility of an exotic disease,” she said.
Hay’s nominator for the award said they’d always found rural vets willing to go the extra mile, but says her actions had given that a whole new meaning.
“She didn’t have to do what she did, but the country is better for it. Dr Hay has saved the New Zealand primary sector millions of dollars and potentially enabled our country to achieve what no other country has -- to rid itself of this disease.”
On the eve of his departure from Federated Farmers board, Richard McIntyre is thanking farmers for their support and words of encouragement during his stint as a farmer advocate.
A project reducing strains and sprains on farm has won the Innovation category in the New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards 2025.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ), in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and other sector organisations, has launched a national survey to understand better the impact of facial eczema (FE) on farmers.
One of New Zealand's latest and largest agrivoltaics farm Te Herenga o Te Rā is delivering clean renewable energy while preserving the land's agricultural value for sheep grazing under the modules.
Global food company Nestle’s chair Paul Bulcke will step down at its next annual meeting in April 2026.
Brendan Attrill of Caiseal Trust in Taranaki has been announced as the 2025 National Ambassador for Sustainable Farming and Growing and recipient of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy at the National Sustainability Showcase at in Wellington this evening.
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