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Alumni in the Spotlight – Alison Bentley, Hamish Marr, Wayne Langford, Tracy Brown, Cam Henderson and Ben McLauchlan.

Here are just a few of the media pieces covering the impact of Rural Leaders’ Programme Alumni in industries and communities across the sector. 

Alison Bentley, 2023 Kellogg Scholar.

Alison Bentley (Tikitere Farm) spoke yesterday at the event ‘Global and Local Approaches to Climate-Resilient Land Use: NZ’s Path Forward.’

Alison joined Angela Clifford (Eat New Zealand), in Session 2: Resilient Food Systems: Small-scale and Local? 

Alison and Angela’s presentation was titled, ‘Resilient Food Systems: small-scale and local?’

Keynote speakers at the event were: Ada Ignaciuk (OECD) and Katarzyna Zawalinska (IRWiR, Polish Academy of Sciences).

Head here to read a short article on Alison’s (and Angela’s) presentation.

While this event has been and gone the registration page has plenty of information about its purpose and the speakers. Head here to learn more.

Ben McLauchlan, 2020 Nuffield Scholar.

Marlborough wine producer and grape grower, Balvonie New Zealand, has released Marlborough’s first Prosecco from Glera grapes planted in the Rapaura sub-region.

The 2023 Balvonie Prosecco has been a three-year project for owners Ben and Helen McLauchlan, who first fell in love with Prosecco while living in the UK. The well-loved wine is made from a little-known grape called Glera, widely planted in Italy, but largely unknown in New Zealand.

Take a read of Balvonie’s Press Release here.

And more about the Balvonie Prosecco here (includes the all important tasting notes).

Tracy Brown, 2020 Nuffield Scholar. Cam Henderson, 2019 Nuffield and 2017 Kellogg Scholar.

Tracy Brown and Cameron Henderson have been confirmed as Chair and Deputy Chair of the DairyNZ Board, respectively.

Tracy Brown had previously been announced as Chair-elect in June 2024 when former Chair Jim van der Poel signalled his retirement from the role.

Take a read of DairyNZ’s press release here.

Hamish Marr, 2019 Nuffield Scholar.

In a recent REX podcast, Dominic George spoke to Hamish Marr about his role in connecting New Zealand agriculture with global markets.

Hamish explains how he navigates international conversations on sustainability, trade demands, and consumer preferences while advocating for New Zealand’s unique farming standards.

He highlights the importance of collaboration and adapting to global demands, offering a rare perspective on New Zealand’s role within the larger agricultural landscape.

You can listen to Hamish here.

Wayne Langford, 2014 Kellogg Scholar.

Federated Farmers national president Wayne Langford features in a recent Farmers Weekly article stating that both the general public and farmers are still unsure about what GE or GM means, and whether it is or isn’t already allowed in this country. 

In the article Wayne Langford says comments from farmers are generally positive and tend to be around meeting climate targets.

You can read the full article here.

 

Beef + Lamb New Zealand and Rural Leaders renew partnership.

The New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust (Rural Leaders) is pleased to announce the renewal of its partnership agreement with Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ).

Pictured: Lisa Rogers, CEO, Rural Leaders (left). Justine Kidd, GM Extension, B+LNZ (right).

One of the New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust’s (Rural Leaders) earliest industry partners is Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ).  

The signing of a new partnership agreement between the two organisations aligns strongly with B+LNZ’s People and Capability Strategy focused on improving on-farm talent retention. Core to delivering on the objective of increasing the retention of people from their first day on farm to their third year is the role of on-farm leadership. Leadership that creates great work environments, communities and futures for people in the sector.

Justine Kidd, General Manager Extension, Beef + Lamb New Zealand, says, “On-farm leadership is critical to solving the challenge of our people’s future on farm. We are attracting enough young talent to the sector, but we aren’t holding them. Rural Leaders’ world-class delivery of leadership programmes supports our strategy, and we are looking forward to our continued joint effort growing great rural leaders across New Zealand.”

“B+LNZ’s partnership with Rural Leaders is a strong fit with two of our three investment pillars; ‘On-Farm’ focused on talent retention directly on farm and ‘Energising’ focused on growing leadership capability, celebrating and sharing stories of success.”, adds Justine Kidd.

To this end, B+LNZ recently announced farmers Richard Cameron and Natasha Cave would be the 2025 recipients of the B+LNZ Leadership Advancement Scholarships. They each receive full sponsorship to complete the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme in 2025, along with mentorship from a B+LNZ leader aligned with their interests.

Lisa Rogers, CEO, Rural Leaders says, “The Rural Leadership Advancement Scholarships will become a flagship opportunity for the sheep and beef industry’s farmer-leaders. We look forward to playing a key role in these leaders’ development and future, both as people and as change-makers.”

The next available Kellogg places are for Programme Two 2025, 24 June start. Applications close April 13, 2025.

Alumni in the Spotlight – Ben Todhunter, Jen Corkran, Paul Crick, Nathan Guy.

Here are just a few of the media pieces covering the impact of Rural Leaders’ Programme Alumni in industries and communities across the sector. 

Ben Todhunter, 2006 Nuffield Scholar.

Ben Todhunter is an experienced Angus breeder, and operates a Merino stud on his farm Cleardale Station. He was recently appointed to the Board of Angus Australia.

In addition to the skillsets mentioned, Ben also breeds Cleardale SX Fine Wool sheep and is a successful competitor in Mustering Dog Trials. 

You can read more in this short article from Angus Australia on the appointment.

Jen Corkran, 2023 Kellogg Scholar.

Jen Corkran, is a Senior Analyst for meat protein with Rabobank. Jen features heavily across several pages in the Sheep Country issue. Jen says the long term view for sheep meat is positive.

She says farmers can be assured that global sheep meat prices are past the bottom of the cycle. “I’m reasonably confident we won’t see less than $6/KG for some time”, said Jen Corkran.

You can read the full article ‘Green shoots emerging after a tough season’ here. (Scroll to page 20).

Paul Crick, 2015 Kellogg Scholar.

As we mentioned, the “Sheep Country’ issue of CountryWide featured many Kellogg Alumni.

Paul Crick, Independent Director of the New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust, featured in an article ‘Testing genetics in commercial hill country conditions’. Paul farms ‘Glenside Station’ a 850ha, 7700 stock unit operation with his partner Dayanne Almeida.

The Wairarapa property was formerly the Taratahi Farm Training Institute’s. Paul and Dayanne took control of the property in 2019 and with it the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Hill Country Central Progeny Test Flock (CPT).

You can read more about the work Paul and Dayanne are doing here – work underpinned by the philosophy,  ‘if you look after the individual, the flock will take care of itself’.

(Scroll to page 62).

Nathan Guy, 1999 Kellogg Scholar.

Nathan is Chair of the New Zealand Meat Industry Association and says that in a time of challenging conditions it is critical that we do not scale back on marketing – specifically the telling of our farmers’ stories.

You can read more from Nathan Guy here.

(Scroll to page 19).

Alumni in the Spotlight – Kate Scott, Isabelle Coates, Matt Iremonger.

Here are just a few of the media pieces covering the impact of Rural Leaders’ Programme Alumni in industries and communities across the sector. 

Isabelle Coates, 2022 Kellogg Scholar.

In what is potentially a first (at least for a while), a Kellogg Scholar writes about a Kellogg Scholar.

Cheyenne Wilson 2024 Kellogg Scholar wrote an article for Farmers Weekly a few weeks back covering Isabelle Coates in the publication’s Rural Living series which highlights the people of Aotearoa’s rural communities.

Isabelle talks to Cheyenne about her work, mentorship and more. Isabelle is Muka Tangata engagement and partnerships manager.

Take a read of the Farmers Weekly article.

Kate Scott, 2018 Nuffield Scholar.

Rural Leaders’ Chair and Nuffield Scholar Kate Scott has been appointed chief executive officer of Horticulture New Zealand.

Kate Scott has been working in agribusiness for 20 years with strong experience in policy and planning and stakeholder engagement. Kate is also executive director of environmental consultancy Landpro, and is deputy chair of Thriving Southland.

“I am confident Kate will navigate the sector’s complexities and be able to unpick and understand the key issues while remaining focused on delivering results that will make a difference for growers and the wider horticulture industry,” Said Barry O’Neil, chair of HortNZ.

Kate has also written a piece for ‘Eating the Elephant’ in Farmers Weekly, September 16. 

Take a read of this article on Kate’s appointment.

Matt Iremonger, 2023 Nuffield Scholar.

“The New Zealand pastoral farming industries have a great opportunity to shift the dysfunctional bobby calf output to functional beef-on-dairy production”, 2023 Nuffield scholar Matt Iremonger believes.

“By shifting from a production-driven to a consumer-demanded beef-on-dairy value chain there is a prospect to enhance value and provide an opportunity for beef on dairy and the non-replacement dairy calf.”

Read the full Farmers Weekly article here.

DairyNZ and Rural Leaders renew Strategic Partnership.

The New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust (Rural Leaders) is pleased to announce the renewal of its Strategic Partnership agreement with DairyNZ.

This latest partnership renewal follows a long-standing relationship with DairyNZ that dates to 2017.

The new agreement means we can continue to help build stronger, more capable dairy industry leaders and in-turn contribute to meeting DairyNZ’s new strategic priorities: accelerating on-farm productivity, powering more adaptable and resilient farms, and enabling sustainable and competitive dairying.

Much of this is underpinned not just by world-leading research and advocacy, but also by fostering evermore capable leadership capability.

DairyNZ’s high-impact partnerships make the most of the Food and Fibre sector’s expertise, connections and strengths. They help to expand their knowledge, access greater resources, and ultimately better meet the needs of New Zealand dairy farmers. We’re proud to play a part in this positive and purposeful ecosystem of change.

The partnership supports Rural Leaders’ purpose to grow world-class leaders for our country. We do this by delivering several of the sector’s most highly regarded and trusted leadership programmes.

DairyNZ CEO, Campbell Parker’s involvement with Rural Leaders is often as a popular speaker on the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme. During these sessions Kellogg scholars learn about DairyNZ’s strategy and enduring value to the sector. They also want to know about Campbell’s own leadership journey, experiences and insights.

Rural Leaders, like DairyNZ, believe dairy has a strong and positive future and we are proud to partner with this key organisation and the industry it supports.

(Pictured – Campbell Parker, DairyNZ CEO, and Lisa Rogers, Rural Leaders’ CEO).

 

A larger-than-life Nuffield alum passes.

The New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust (Rural Leaders) and Nuffield New Zealand are saddened by the recent passing of Garrick Murfitt, 1977 Nuffield Scholar.

Garrick was a hill-country farmer first and foremost and was involved with Horizons Regional Council since joining as statutory member in 1992. He went on to be elected to represent the Tararua District and served as Chair from 2006 to 2010.

Garrick was involved in a number of collaborative initiatives involving local government, iwi and hapū and was also a driver of the improved health of the Manawatū River.

Horizons CE, Michael McCartney said of Garrick, “He was a larger than life chartacter … a joy to work with, and loved by everyone. He was a wonderful person and a man of real public service.”

Garrick is survived by his wife Jane, sons Simon, Richard and Daniel, daughter Emma, and grandchildren Taylor, Ben, Grace, Ellen, Beth, Anna, Tobias, Jack, Lucy, Poppy and Beatrice.

You can leave a message for Garrick’s family here.

You can read a Herald article here.

Zespri and Rural Leaders renew Programme Partnership

The New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust (Rural Leaders) is pleased to announce the renewal of its long-running Programme Partnership agreement with Zespri.

Zespri are highly engaged in rural leadership development and in the support of the programmes that help build the strategic leadership capacity in our food and fibre sector.

With the support of Zespri, Rural Leaders’ programmes continue to grow leaders who have the awareness, confidence and skills to take advantage of the opportunities and challenges confronting the sector and its communities.

Rural Leaders are proud to partner with Zespri and the sector it supports.

(Pictured – Jason Te Brake, Zespri CEO, and Lisa Rogers, Rural Leaders’ CEO.

Horticulture NZ Leadership Programme partnership.

A fast-changing industry needs more adaptble and capable leaders.

Horticulture is fast-changing. It has big goals, such as doubling the farmgate value of production. The industry wants to do this in a way that lifts the prosperity of its people while also protecting the planet.

The environment horticulture now operates in is more complex than it has ever been. It will need a pool of high-performing, current and potential leaders with the confidence and skills to take the industry into the future.

The New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust (Rural Leaders) are partnering with HortNZ to deliver the highly regarded and in-demand HortNZ Leadership Programme.

“A sustained flow of capable and self-aware leaders is critical to the Food and Fibre sector remaining vital and vibrant into the future. The Sector needs leaders that are continuously developing themselves and the teams they work with.

This addition to Rural Leaders’ suite of programmes, fully realises our intent to include an operational level programme as part of a wider leadership development ecosystem.

We are pleased to be working in partnership with HortNZ to deliver this important piece of a horticulture leader’s development journey”, Said Lisa Rogers, CEO, Rural Leaders.

The programme is designed to help leaders capture the opportunities and address the challenges offered by the industry’s expected growth and change. Participants will be fruit and vegetable growers, their employees, or from organisations closely associated with growing. They will join the more than 300 leaders who have graduated from the programme since 2002.

 

A key piece of the Food and Fibre sector’s leadership development ecosystem.

The HortNZ Leadership Programme took a break in 2023 to be reviewed against the current industry landscape. An additional evaluation was completed by Scarlatti, funded by Food and Fibre CoVE.

Food and Fibre CoVE also commissioned Rural Leaders to undertake research to define, design and develop an integrated approach tailored for Food and Fibre to help establish leadership development pathways for our people to grow and succeed. 

The research outputs include the Capability Development Framework, introduced in the report, ‘A path to realising the leadership potential of Aotearoa New Zealand’s Food and Fibre Sector’. Key elements from the Capability Development Framework were also reviewed alongside the HortNZ Leadership Programme.

HortNZ Leadership Programme timetable.

The Programme is delivered by Rural Leaders in two phases and over nine weeks starting 13 August 2024 and finishing 19 October 2024:

  • Phase one: five days (13 –18 August 2024 in Auckland)
  • Phase two: three days (17-19 October 2024 in Wellington)
  • Personal leadership plan – six weeks over the Programme.

Designed to build participants’ confidence to take the lead and to create influence, the programme will also develop business skills, such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving.

It includes sessions that aim to generate an awareness of strategy, how to use it,
as well as developing a personal plan. A key feature of the programme is the opportunity to network and grow relationships with other like-minded emerging and current influential leaders.

 

 

Alumni in the Spotlight – Julian Raine, Tracy Brown, Anna Gower-James and more.

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.

Dr Patrick Aldwell retires after 25 years of service to Kellogg.

Dr Patrick Aldwell has made a hugely positive impact on thousands of people from across the Food and Fibre sector. Passionate about life-long learning, he has also made the academic and strategic support of anyone who needed it, his life-long mission. On the Kellogg Programme alone, he did this for twenty five years. 

Now he has officially retired from Kellogg (well probably, mostly).

Since retiring from Lincoln University as Dean of the Faculty of Commerce in 2012, 
Dr Patrick Aldwell continued to focus on agribusiness programmes that build leadership capability in Food and Fibre.

These included the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme, the Horticultural Leadership Programme, the Nuffield Scholarship and Future Food Network programmes.  

Prior to returning to Lincoln University in 1998, Patrick was a scientist for 20 years at the then Forest Research Institute in the Trade, Marketing and Economics group. During this time he worked on New Zealand land use issues and internationally for the UN and World Bank on capacity-building for science infrastructure projects. 

Patrick’s disciplines are in the fields of regional and industrial economics and strategic management. He has degrees from Massey University, Monash University, the University of Washington and a Dip. Agri from Lincoln University. 

Patrick never tires of sharing his knowledge with students and sector leaders. He is sought out for academic support and strategic guidance, particularly when it comes to tackling the big challenges facing the primary industries and its rural communities.

Today Patrick’s academic interests lie in fields of technological change, rural issues, the interface between agricultural intensification and other ecosystems, and on building our sector’s leadership capability. 

To this end, Patrick’s 25 years with the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme, were marked by his support and encouragement of the rural leaders he taught.

One recent Māori Agri-business graduate of the Kellogg Programme said of Patrick, “He was instrumental in assisting me to basically learn how to write, how to write well, and to get my writing out there in the public space so that I could share what was on my heart and mind.” Comments such as this are typical and frequent.

He provided academic guidance and knowledge-rich support to rural leaders not just on the Kellogg Programme, but also the Horticulture Leadership Programme and many more. It is not just his dedicated academic support for students and scholars, but it is also to people in their ‘day jobs’ as well.

As Dean, Patrick’s long-time colleague, Associate Professor Charles Lamb, now Divisional Director at Lincoln University, said, “Dr Aldwell’s stand out quality was his genuine empathy for his staff”.

Images top and bottom – the graduation of the 50th Kellogg cohort. November 2023.

Shaping the critical and strategic thinking ability of hundreds on Kellogg.

Patrick’s involvement in the Sector runs so deep it can be hard to find a place he hasn’t had a significant positive impact on the primary industries’ people and their communities.

In late November last year, the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme celebrated the graduation of its 50th cohort. Patrick was asked to speak to a large crowd of Scholars and industry leaders, not just as the Academic Director of the Programme, but as someone who had influenced the trajectory of over 800 of the Programme’s 1100+ alumni.  

Patrick has often said that one of the biggest thrills he gets is hearing of the successes of those in rural New Zealand he has taught, encouraged or perhaps provided quiet counsel to when times were tough on-farm. 

The length of time served, the passion, commitment, and the individuals influenced by Patrick’s involvement in key sector programmes, particularly around leader capability lift, means his impact on the primary industries has been exponential.

His fifty years of service to the Sector, positively influencing trade, science, academia and people, stands as tacit evidence of his dedication and passion for the primary industries.

In the last two decades Patrick has focused more specifically on addressing leader capability lift in the primary industries. Patrick understands the exponential impact stronger and ever-better leader ability can have in creating better outcomes for rural communities and their people.

As a simple and frequently occurring example, it is common to hear Patrick has spent hours working into the night, consulting with a farmer or grower who has been working all day on their operation. He takes a genuine interest in them as business owners, as team members, as students and as human beings. Whether on Zoom, over the phone, or in-person, Patrick never shies from helping the rural people and communities he is so passionate about.

From everyone at Rural Leaders, and the rural leaders you have supported and encouraged, enjoy your retirement Patrick.