Rural Leaders News Archives | Page 17 of 31

Grazing Partnership a win: win – Phil Weir, 2020 Nuffield Scholar

Phil and Megan Weir have designed a system to increase dairy grazing income by adding value

Article is sourced from NZ Farmlife’s ‘CountryWide’ January 2021 magazine

Written by: Sandra Taylor
Photo by: Emma McCarthy

By adding value to the dairy support package they offer, Waikato farmers Phil and Megan Weir are generating returns on a par with a bull beef system.

For the past three years, the couple has been farming 250 hectares (the cattle platform is 180ha) in Te Pahu on the slopes of Mt Pirongia, in the heart of Waikato dairy country. They run breeding ewes, trading cattle and dairy heifers and have developed a grazing package that generates a premium and delivers a product that benefits the client’s dairy operation by ensuring they have well grown heifers entering the herd.

Phil, who is a 2020 Nuffield Scholar and sits on Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Farmer Council, says they have been grazing heifers for dairy farmers Craig and Kylee Mora for three years. Their relationship has grown to one based on trust rather than formal contracts and an understanding that the couple will guarantee the heifers hit their pre-mating and calving target weights, irrespective of seasonal fluctuations in growth rates.

Read the full article here: http://readnow.isentia.com/ReadNow.aspx?EcA1sSy2e6ut

Open Farms is back and looking for hosts

Strong connections between farmers and urban Kiwis are essential for a thriving agri-sector. The work of farmers should be valued and our customers need to understand what it takes to grow food.

We know that most people are disconnected from their food – so let’s do something about it.

That’s why Rural Leaders is a channel partner of Open Farms – a platform to reconnect urban Kiwis with our food, land and farmers via a nationwide open farm day on Sunday February 21, 2021.

Click through to their Visit a farm page.

We’re supporting Open Farms to find open day hosts, by connecting them with farming leaders like yourself. If you are farming close to urban areas around Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga and Dunedin and your keen to be an Open Farms host – You can register to host or request a call back on the Open Farms website.

Open Farms is a nationwide initiative to reconnect urban Kiwis with our food, land and farmers.

Few reasons why you should host an Open Farms Day

In March 2020, 3,500 Kiwis visited 45 farms across New Zealand for the inaugural Open Farms.
Your Open Farms event can be as small or as large as you like – farmer hosts choose the size, format and focus of their event.
The Open Farms Host Handbook answers all of your questions, including health & safety, activity ideas and tips for using your event to promote a product or diversification. Leave all the marketing and registrations to Open Farms – you just focus on running an event and sharing your farming story.
Post event research shows that just getting urban folks on farm, changes the way they think and feel about agriculture, and their own actions in the food system.

Rural Leaders partners with Whanganui & Partners to build rural leadership in Wanganui region

Rural Leaders are delighted to announce our new partnership with Whanganui and Partners to help grow regional leaders and entrepreneurial capital in Whanganui’s food and fibre sector.

As part of the sponsorship, two scholarships will be granted to Whanganui residents, or those scholars who directly contribute to Whanganui’s agribusiness sector, who are undertaking a Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme or a Nuffield Farming Scholarship.

Find out more about the new partnership here.

Step up in 2021 – be part of the Kellogg Rural Leadership programme in Tai Tokerau!

Take the next step in your development and do the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme in Tai Tokerau in 2021.

Course dates: 4 May – 21 October

APPLY NOW
Applications close on 31 January 2021

Click here for more information on the Kellogg Tai Tokerau Course

Chris Parsons Introduces 2021 Nuffield Scholars : Sarah’s Country Interview

In this interview on Sarah’s Country Chris Parsons, CEO of Rural Leaders introduces the 2021 Nuffield scholars and talks about how they will navigate their global research with covid-related travel restrictions.

Chris also touches on the 2020 Nuffield Scholar insights that were presented at the 2021 Nuffield Awards Ceremony, following the work the 2020 Scholars have been doing on the sector impacts of COVID-19.

Listen to the podcast here:

Click here to read the 2021 Nuffield Scholar bios.

Siobhan O’Malley and Wayne Langford – win Primary Industries ‘Champion Award’ 2020

Congratulations to two of our Kellogg Alumni – Siobhan O’Malley and Wayne Langford – who were the winners of the 2020 ‘Champion Award’ at the Primary Industries Awards on 23 November in Wellington.

Siobhan and Wayne were selected as winners of this category for their outstanding efforts as Founders of their National Charity ‘Meat the Need.’

What is the Champion Award?

“The Champion Award is intended to enable the primary industries’ community to recognise the efforts of one of its own. This is an award for the grassroots unsung hero, the genuine ‘good bugger’ who has championed their rural community and their industry. The award goes to an individual who goes beyond their own farm or business, to help others with their own challenges either in times of extreme need or in times of daily necessity.” (Copy sourced from
https://primaryindustries.co.nz/awards/categories).

The Primary Industries 2020 ‘Champion Award’ category is also sponsored by Rural Leader’s Service partner Federated Farmers.

Siobhan and Wayne are the Founders of ‘Meat the Need’ a national charity that supplies much needed meat to City Missions and food banks. The Meat is donated by farmers, processed, packed and delivered to those most in need.

Find out more about ‘Meat the Need’ and donate here.

2020 Nuffield Scholars Insights

Stories from the year of living precariously

Presented at the Nuffield 2021 Scholarship Awards Ceremony
3^rd November 2020, Wellington

The Nuffield NZ 2020 Scholars have had conversations with food and fibre producing leaders about the impact of COVID-19 on the primary sector.

From these conversations our 2020 Scholars (Tracy Brown, Ben McLauchlan, Phil Weir, Edward Pinckney and Shannon Harnett) have worked together to deliver four collective insights around supply chains, innovation, people and strategies.

Watch the 2020 Scholars deliver their insights in the video below.

Introduction: Our year of living precariously (Tracy Brown)

Insight 1 : Supply chain resilience (Ben McLauchlan)

Insight 2 : The haves & have nots (Phil Weir)

Insight 3 : Fit for purpose leadership (Edward Pinckney)

Insight 4 : Adding value (Shannon Harnett)

Download the presentation document: NUFFIELD 2020: Stories from the year of living precariously

Tracy Brown

“Conversations with food and fibre producing leaders about the impact of COVID 19 has helped us gain insights and become critically reflective thinkers”

Nuffielders 2020

Our year of living precariously

For the first time, the New Zealand Nuffield Scholars have worked together to deliver collective insights.

The collaborative learning model focused on ‘Critical Reflective Practice’ providing significant insight and a framework for more focused individual efforts in 2021.

Greater opportunity to connect locally has been valuable and should be incorporated into future program delivery.

Back to the top

Ben McLauchlan

“Resilience is the capacity of a system, enterprise, or person to maintain its core purpose and integrity in the face of dramatically changed circumstances.”

Andrew Zolli

Insight one: Proven supply chain resilience

The World Trade Organisation forecast that world merchandise trade would be reduced by between 13% and 32% in 2020 (WTO, April 2020).

NZ has been able to continue to trade goods, despite local and international challenges.
We have outpaced other export focused countries.
Our supply chains have been tested and found to be resilient.
The demand for our food has ensured prioritisation and flow of key imports.
The primary sector has been a vital lifeline in keeping the NZ economy intact and lessening the economic impact.

Back to the top

Phil Weir

“The threat of going hungry became real for many people for the first time in their lives”

KPMG, The ‘now’ normal’ future

Insight two: Growing disparity between the haves and have nots

We have all been affected by COVID-19. Some of us to greater or lesser extents. It has not just been the spread of the virus that has followed an exponential growth curve.

Technological innovation has quickened.
Increasing inequality between the haves and have nots.
The degree and obviousness of disparity raises significant risks to social license and export markets

Back to the top

Edward Pinckney

“Chaos is exhausting, structure and certainty keeps us sane”

Insight three: Challenges around fit for purpose leadership

Risk related to COVID-19 escalated rapidly. Previously it was not high (or even present) on the risk matrix for many businesses. Some leaders were caught out, “frozen with indecision,” unable to make decisions and move forward. Others excelled!

The following are attributes of great leadership in a crisis:

Communication to create certainty
Culture of experimentation
Creativity and agility
Values based

Back to the top

Shannon Harnett

“Lock down gave me time and space to evaluate my ideals around how I live. This was an opportunity I had not had in 30 years.”

Business owner

Insight four: Adding value by moving from value to values

The rise of the ‘Conscious Consumer’ is a growing trend and COVID 19 has accelerated this.

We need to further understand the drivers behind consumers preparedness to buy and consume sustainably grown, values-based produce.

Back to the top

LIC invests in first of two start-ups

LIC has increased its level of investment in its AgCelerator™ Fund and announced its first two investments designed to deliver more value to New Zealand dairy farmers.

Link: https://www.lic.co.nz/news/lic-invests-first-two-start-ups/

Those interested can find an application form on LIC’s website on the LIC AgCelerator Fund webpage.

Horticulture NZ keen to work with new Government

‘In 2019, the New Zealand horticulture industry was worth more than $6.39 billion and has grown by 64% in the past ten years. That is thanks to industry innovation and grower investment in new varieties and growing techniques to stay ahead of international competition and respond to consumer preferences. This growth is also because the industry is a sustainable user of land.’

Barry O’Neil, HortNZ President

Horticulture New Zealand – which advocates for New Zealand’s 6000 plus fruit and vegetable growers – is keen to work with the new Government to ensure the industry can continue to grow and support New Zealand’s post-Covid economic and social recovery.

Link: https://www.hortnz.co.nz/news-events-and-media/media-releases/horticulture-new-zealand-keen-to-work-with-new-government/

The Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme has been developing leaders for the rural and agri-food sector since 1979.

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Innovating for our fast-changing value chains.

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By adding value to the dairy support package they offer, Waikato farmers Phil and Megan Weir are generating returns on a par with a bull beef system.

Few reasons why you should host an Open Farms Day

Step up in 2021 – be part of the Kellogg Rural Leadership programme in Tai Tokerau!

Step up in 2021 – be part of the Kellogg Rural Leadership programme in Tai Tokerau!

Stories from the year of living precariously

Tracy Brown

Our year of living precariously

Ben McLauchlan

Insight one: Proven supply chain resilience

Phil Weir

Insight two: Growing disparity between the haves and have nots

Edward Pinckney

Insight three: Challenges around fit for purpose leadership

Shannon Harnett

Insight four: Adding value by moving from value to values

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