Here are just a few of the media pieces covering the impact of Rural Leaders’ Programme Alumni in industries and communities across the sector.
Geoffrey Neilson
Geoffrey (Geoff) Neilson (Nuffield 1976)
Southern farmers Geoff and Ailsa Neilson are being celebrated for opening their home and the minds of scores of Welsh visitors. ODT’s Shawn McAvinue talks to Mr Neilson about his family hosting more than 100 Welsh students on their sheep and beef farm and his wife being his greatest mentor.
Take a read of this ODT article about an extraordinary couple, and a Nuffield alum who is the embodiment of the Nuffield spirit.
Emma Crutchley, Jon Pemberton
Emma Crutchley (Kellogg 2018, Value Chain 2023), Jon Pemberton (Nuffield 2025), ‘Farm without Harm’ video.
Otago sheep and beef farmer Emma Crutchley (2018 Kellogg Scholar, 2023 Value Chain) and Jon Pemberton (2025 Nuffield Scholar) feature in a ‘farm without harm’ campaign (Safer Farms/ACC).
The campaign leads with videos sharing practical tips designed to help farmers to make small changes to the way they might do things. Ultimately, the work aims to reduce on-farm injury by suggesting a pause before you act; ACC’s familiar ‘hmmm’ ad platform.
If you haven’t seen these clips already, check out one here.
Dan Steele
Dan Steele (Nuffield 2015, Value Chain 2023)
Blue Duck Station owner Dan Steele NZ and wife Sandy recently won the tourism environment category at the New Zealand Tourism Awards.
Blue Duck Station, is a working beef and sheep farm and eco-tourism destination in Whanganui National Park.
“We’re really hoping that this becomes more mainstream, for more businesses to do more conservation work and pay their rent to NZ for looking after our natural capital,” said Dan.
Congratulations to Dan, family, and the Blue Duck Station team. Take a read of a Whanganui Chronicle article here.
Dan Eb
Dan Eb (Nuffield 2021)
In his semi-regular crafting of articles for Farmers Weekly’s ‘Eating the Elephant column, Dan asserts that Pirates were actually the pioneers of modern Human Resources and workplace culture.
“Despite working in a context of high seas thievery and murder, they built flat, high-performing organisations based on trust, transparency and teamwork that outdo many modern teams and companies.”
Dan offers a few pirate myths this idea busts and lessons it offers for us modern folk. Take a read of the article here.
Conan Moynihan, Phoebe Scherer, Reuben Carter, Dr Jordi Hoult, Daniel Judd
The following alumni featured in the latest issue of CountryWide magazine. To access the Virtual Magazine, you need to be a subscriber and be logged in to the site.
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Conan Moynihan (Kellogg 2022), CountryWide Magazine, Page 24.
Conan ‘Force of Nature Consulting’, is helping farmers find the sweet spot between environmental and economic sustainability. Conan believes that the future of farming must remain rooted in tradition and in transformation too.
Phoebe Scherer, Reuben Carter (HortNZ Leadership Programme 2025 and 2024 respectively)
On Page 82 and 83 an article ‘Nurturing the next generation’ offers a timely dive into the future of leadership in the horticulture sector. Horticulture New Zealand celebrates 20 years this year.
Bay of Plenty grower and 2025 Young Grower of the Year, Phoebe Scherer and Reuben Carter, along with Kate Scott, CEO HortNZ, offer comment on leadership in the sector.
Dr. Jordi Hoult (Kellogg 2024), CountryWide Magazine, Page 80.
Jordi graduated Kellogg after presenting her research ‘Empowering the missing middle in leadership’. The report asserts that 30-50 years old farmers and rural professionals are missing from the leadership conversation.
On her research Jordi says, “Despite the wealth of experience many in this group possess, traditional leadership development pathways tend to focus on younger individuals, leaving mid-career professionals without the resources they need to continue growing.”
Daniel Judd (Kellogg 2025), CountryWide Magazine, Page 58.
Daniel’s excellent Kellogg report, ‘The soils gap: interactions between science, commerce and culture, is explored on page 58 and 59 of the magazine. Daniel’s report and the article explore the drivers behind conventional and regenerative farming practices and seeks to reduce the barriers that seperate the two approaches.
