It’s been another busy month or two for alumni in the news. Here are just a few of the media pieces covering the impact of Rural Leaders’ Programme Alumni in industries and communities across the sector.
Julian Raine, 1997 Nuffield Scholar.
As you may well have heard, Julian Raine, 1997 Nuffield Scholar, won the Outstanding Contribution Award at the Federated Farmers’ Primary Industries Awards on July 2nd.
Julian is a former Chair of the NZ Rural Leadership Trust and has also chaired the Apple Futures Programme. He has been a trustee of the Massey Lincoln Agricultural Industry Trust, he has co-chaired the Nelson Tasman Climate Forum, and is a member of the Primary Sector Council.
Judges noted that he is, and continues to be, an innovator and leading entrepreneur in horticulture and dairy. His leadership and commitment to giving back, both nationally and in the Nelson community, including involvement in the Waimea Community Dam project, has spanned three decades.
This article gave a strong account of the win.
Take a read of the Farmers Weekly article.
Jason Te Brake, 2014 Kellogg Scholar.
Jason Te Brake’s appointment as Zespri’s new Chief Executive hit the headlines several weeks back. On his appointment Jason said,
“My focus will be on leading the Zespri team to capture the significant demand opportunities in the market, on strengthening our supply chain and operational performance to maximise value in the market, and on ensuring we return as much of that value back to growers as possible.”
Take a read of this Waikato news article on Jason’s background and his plans for the Kiwifruit marketer.
Kate Scott, 2018 Nuffield Scholar.
In June’s ‘The Journal’ (From NZIPIM, Vol 28, No 2), Kate Scott, 2018 Nuffield Scholar shares her findings from her time in Brazil on the Nuffield Global Focus Programme (GFP).
Kate’s article explores the idea that Brazil might be a little more than its stereotype –
a large-scale, beef-producing, Amazon deforesting nation in the South Americas.
The article goes into some ideas that potentially paint an alternative picture.
You can download and read the article here.
Image below: Julian Raine with his ‘Outstanding Contribution Award’ at July’s
Primary Industries Awards.
Tracy Brown, 2020 Nuffield Scholar.
In late June, it was announced Tracy Brown will take over as board chair of DairyNZ in October. Tracy replaces Jim van der Poel, 2002 Nuffield Scholar, who has been chair of DairyNZ since 2017.
DairyNZ has a governing board of eight members. Five directors are elected by farmers and three are independent and appointed by the board. Congratulations to Jim on his exceptional service and to Tracy on her election. This article from Rural News Group had it covered.
Anna Gower-James, 2023 Kellogg Scholar.
An article in the Spring edition of the New Zealand Dairy Exporter by Anna Gower-James explores the growth of Nigerian dairy consumption and looks at its potential from a New Zealand trade perspective.
The article is based on Anna’s Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme report and is available in the latest issue (Spring 2024) of New Zealand Dairy Exporter.
Anna’s full report is available here.
Dan Eb, David Eade, John Foley, 2021 Nuffield Scholars.
On a regular basis (generally once a week) one of four Nuffield Scholars, Dan Eb, David Eade, Phil Weir, or Ben Anderson, pen an article for Farmers Weekly’s ‘Eating the Elephant’.
Here is the now substantial archive which includes recent additions from Dan and David, as well as Phil Weir.
This month, guest writer John Foley added his learned touch to the group’s efforts. John’s article ‘The courage to be a pragmatist’, proposes that we just might have been better at getting things done in the past. John writes,
“Kennedy was a pragmatist. He fundamentally changed his politics to reflect the reality of American society and wasn’t afraid to lose political capital. For modern New Zealand, the pragmatism to build infrastructure and create enduring government policies is hard to find. As a result, things aren’t done.”
Take a read of John’s article here.
Another article from the archive well worth a read is Dan Eb’s June 19 piece on his Nuffield travel. The Global Focus Programme (GFP) is a key piece of the Nuffield Scholarship, placing small groups of about a dozen international scholars together on a tour of several continents and many countries.
“May-June 2023, my Nuffield Farming Scholarship sling-shotted me and 11 other scholars across Singapore, Japan, Israel, the Netherlands and the United States.”
For anyone considering a 2025 Nuffield Scholarship, this article gives you some real insight into what it means to develop a global view.
Applications for 2025 Nuffield Scholarships are open until 18 October.
Cheyenne Wilson, 2024 Kellogg Scholar.
Cheyenne Wilson is currently on the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme and will graduate in November.
Cheyenne’s Kellogg research focuses on identifying the tools and mechanisms needed for rangatahi to thrive in the Food and Fibre sector.
Take a read of this Farmer’s Weekly article ‘Bridging tradition and innovation in NZ farming’ covers the journey so far of this busy and community-minded Kellogger.
Kylie Leonard, 2023 Nuffield Scholar.
The 2023 Nuffield Scholars, Kylie Leonard, Kerry Worsnop, Matt Iremonger and James Allen were each interviewed on the CountryWide or Dairy Exporter podcasts.
The most recent of these was Kylie Leonard’s coverage of her Nuffield report ‘Boots on the ground are part of the solution. Transitioning agriculture towards sustainability together.’
Interviewed by Sarah Perriam-Lampp, the podcast determines that farmers to need to be at the table when it comes to fostering sustainable practices in the agriculture sector.
Kylie says that the best uptake is when farmers have had the choice to change, and lead by example within their community.
Take a listen to Kylie’s podcast here.
You can also find the remaining 2023 Nuffield Scholar podcasts below.
James Allen, Matt Iremonger and Kerry Worsnop.
A big thank you to Sarah and her team for these fantastic podcasts.
Image below: Emma Crutchley at the launch of the KPMG Agri-business agenda. Fieldays.
Emma Crutchley, 2018 Kellogg Scholar.
Emma was asked to contribute to the launch of the KPMG New Zealand Agribusiness Agenda at Mystery Creek Field days.
Take a read of Emma’s LinkedIn post covering her participation on the panel, together with Jason Te Brake, Jason Doherty, Ian Proudfoot and others.
