Four Food and Fibre sector leaders were awarded 2025 Nuffield New Zealand Farming Scholarships last night in Wellington by Hon Nicola Grigg.
Rt Hon Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister of New Zealand, was also in attendance.
Hon Nicola Grigg announced the new Scholars as:
Dani Darke, King Country. (Farmer, Governance).
Dani, her husband Anthony and their three daughters, farm a 630ha sheep + beef operation in Aria, Waitomo.
“In a great rural community – farms grow many things, one of the most important is growing great humans”, says Dani Darke.
Dani is passionate about promoting sustainable and profitable farm businesses that support vibrant rural communities. “Rural communities make up the heart of New Zealand and I want to be part of ensuring this way of life continues for generations to come”, added Dani Darke.
After earning a degree in Agriculture, Dani embarked on a career in agri-banking and later was Livestock Manager for a meat exporter. An AWDT Escalator graduate, Dani has also held leadership roles including Chair of Beef + Lamb Mid-Northern Farmer Council, and in 2019 Dani served as Associate Director with Ospri. Dani is a Partner at Rural Coach and a Director with Ballance Agri-Nutrients.
Dani is interested in organisations supporting rural people and their communities and enjoys spending time with rural folk, and the ‘doers’ in our communities who make stuff happen. In her downtime, she enjoys tramping, horse riding, boating and skiing.
Alan McDermott, Golden Bay. (Business Owner, Entrepreneur).
Alan is founder of Pearl Pastures, which works with dairy farmers and finishers to produce rose veal from surplus dairy calves.
Pearl Veal is marketed to premier restaurants in New Zealand and internationally.
The business brings together many strands that are core to Alan – sustainability, human and animal wellbeing, and creating delicious food.
Alan is also a partner in AgriFood Strategy, a consultancy working with businesses and the wider sector on significant strategic issues such as sustainability, value chain performance, and establishing premium end-to-end value chains.
Alan led the collaboration that brought together farm assurance for the red meat sector and the development of the sector’s sustainability assurance programme. He recently worked with Headwaters on Lumina lamb, was a director of Red Meat Profit Partnership and has been involved in, and chaired, advisory boards for several other entities.
Alan grew up on a sheep and beef farm in the hills of Hawke’s Bay and studied at Massey University and now thrives in Golden Bay.
Jon Pemberton, Southland. (Farmer, Governance).
Jon, his wife Birgit and their 3 school-aged children, operate two dairy farms either side of Edendale, Southland.
Jon currently holds roles including, Environment Southland Southern Ward Councillor, Ag Proud NZ Chair, National Lamb Day steering group chair and committee member of Three Rivers Catchment and Edendale Aquifer groups.
Jon and his family try to make the most of any spare time they have by getting out and enjoying Southland. That can be doing anything from sea fishing and camping through to hunting and skiing.
Jon was highly motivated to apply for a Nuffield because of the engagement he has had with Nuffield alumni over the last few years.
“They are often such critical and analytical thinkers – I’ve found this refreshing. The discussions I have had around the big challenges facing the sector that we need to address now and, in the future,”, Said Jon Pemberton.
Lisa Portas, South Wairarapa. (Agri-business).
Lisa is a South Wairarapa, regenerative sheep and beef farmer with her husband Kurt and their two boys. They have called the area home for 16 years.
At Palliser Ridge, Lisa wears many hats, as director, shareholder, and Expansion Manager. Lisa oversees diversification ventures, such as agri-tourism, exports, manufacturing, and managing both B2C and B2B relationships. A key part of her role is the creation and protection of the farm’s brand.
Lisa is passionate about sharing the farm’s natural fibres with the world, and a recent highlight has been securing contracts for their entire 40-tonne wool clip at prices that cover shearing costs.
Lisa is interested in taking a deeper dive into the strong wool space and to explore the international landscape.
Outside Palliser Ridge, Lisa also holds three directorships in tourism and manufacturing and delivers guest lectures on strong wool at Auckland University of Technology.
Congratulations to the recipients of the Nuffield Farming Scholarships for 2025, the 75th Year of Nuffield and Year of the Rural Leader.
The Nuffield Scholarships are funded by Rural Leaders’ Strategic Partners DairyNZ, FMG, Mackenzie Charitable Foundation, AGMARDT, and Programme Partners Beef + Lamb New Zealand, Ministry for Primary Industries, Farmlands, LIC, Rabobank, FAR, HortNZ, and Zespri.
