Here are just a few of the media pieces covering the impact of Rural Leaders’ Programme Alumni in industries and communities across the sector.
James Allen
Nuffield 2023
James has been made a Life Member of the Institute of Rural Professionals, recognising 30 years in rural consultancy, agribusiness and industry leadership. He told Rural News he was surprised, humbled and quite thrilled, and that being honoured by your peers is probably the highest accolade anyone can receive.
The AgFirst chief executive and founding partner has served as National President of New Zealand Young Farmers, President of NZIPIM, President of the National Fieldays Society and Associate Director of AGMARDT. His Nuffield research looked at artificial intelligence and the future of agricultural advisory services.
Thirty years on, James says the job has grown more complex. It was once about feeding animals and growing grass. Now rural professionals carry governance, environmental and social responsibilities as well, and he expects AI to reshape the work again within five years.
Take a read of the Rural News article: James Allen Named Life Member of Rural Professionals Body.
Corrigan Sowman
Nuffield 2019, Kellogg 2016
LIC board chair Corrigan Sowman used his address at the co-operative’s annual meeting in Invercargill this week to argue that herd improvement compounds the way mating decisions do: the cost falls now, the value lands in cows not yet born.
Genomics was his clearest example. The rate of genetic gain has lifted 50% over the past decade, worth around $200 million a year to the sector, and LIC now holds more than two million genotypes.
He closed with a Southland example, quantifying what a quarter century of breeding decisions has delivered behind the farm gate.
Kate Scott
Nuffield 2018
HortNZ chief executive Kate Scott is urging Parliament to pass reforms speeding up growers’ access to crop protection products before the general election.
The Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Amendment Bill, reported back from select committee on 3 September, would cut duplication in approvals. A key change requires decision-makers to take international assessments into account, rather than merely have regard to them.
Kate says this sends a stronger signal that New Zealand should make effective use of robust assessments by trusted overseas regulators, supporting faster approvals without lowering standards.
Take a read of the Farmers Weekly article: Growers push for faster access to crop protection tools.
Charles Yule
Kellogg 2023
Charles is the subject of a CountryWide profile titled ‘Farming at pace’, following his and wife Mandy’s win as Hawke’s Bay Farmers of the Year for 2026 at the Napier Port Hawke’s Bay Primary Sector Awards. The profile finds Charles having barely had time to get his boots dirty as manager of Whakamarumaru Station before he was heading up an intensive development programme on the 1,000ha Crownthorpe finishing property. The judges recognised a sheep and beef operation built on strong strategy and disciplined execution.
Luke Doyle
Kellogg 2026
Luke featured last Alumni in the Spotlight for a Farmers Weekly article on his Kellogg research. This month the report has received more coverage, with Luke appearing on CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson.
His research found 86% of young farmers see financial risk as a barrier to progression. The main hurdle on the dairy pathway isn’t technical skill, it’s financial literacy.
“We have the best dairy farmers technically in the world and it’s just making sure that the financial literacy is being taught alongside the farming side of things,” he says.
Luke wants a clearer template for the move from employee to employer, along with more mentorship for those going into their first contract.
Parmindar Singh
Nuffield 2022
Congratulations to Parmindar on her appointment to the Veterinary Council of New Zealand, made by the Minister of Agriculture earlier this year.
A fourth-generation Waikato dairy farmer, Parmindar lectures in agribusiness at the University of Waikato’s Waikato Management School, alongside international consumer food research focused on dairy and primary sector market engagement. She also manages the family dairy farming business in the Waikato.
Between that and her governance track record, she brings a great breadth of experience to the Council.
Read the LinkedIn post by the Vet Council: Welcome, Parmindar! It’s great to have you on board.
Clare Bradley
Nuffield 2026
Clare wrote an opinion piece for Farmers Weekly recently, reflecting on something she noticed partway through her Nuffield travels.
Moving between countries, she began paying less attention to what farmers told her about their operations and more to the language they used. Each place had its own way of framing farming, shaped by its landscape, its history and what it had to worry about. Returning home, the contrast was hard to miss.
Clare’s argument is that the words we choose end up shaping what we measure and where we invest. Lean too heavily on one description of farming and the rest of what the sector does risks slipping out of view.
Read the Farmers Weekly article: Narrow view of agriculture misses vital connections.
Sonja Vreugdenhil
Kellogg 2022
Sonja’s Kellogg research on whether open source is the best way to manage and share agricultural data was picked up by Farmers Weekly, in an article on who profits from data generated on farm.
She says raw farm data should in principle stay with the farmer. But once a provider analyses it or runs it through their own models, the insights that come out of that may justifiably belong to them, so long as the agreement spells it out. Building those models takes serious investment and expertise.
Whether farmers should be paid for their data is less clear-cut. Sonja reckons the more useful question is whether farmers understand what they’re signing in the first place: how their data will be collected, used, shared and stored, and who ends up owning what comes out of it.
Read the Farmers Weekly article: Who profits from data generated on farm?
