Will Foley puts hand up for regional council

Fourth-generation Central Hawke's Bay farmer Will Foley has thrown his hat into the ring for the upcoming elections to be held this October.

Along with his wife Abbie, Will is based at Hatuma and continues to farm at Takapau near where he was born and raised.

With nearly 20 years experience farming after taking over the reins from his parents, and five years as the local Federated Farmers president, Will believes he now has a valuable understanding of the CHB landscape, resource management issues and has the right attributes to contribute to the council in a constructive manner.

"With Debbie Hewitt standing down I felt the time was right to stand up and say I would have a go.

"Right now I see a booming Hawke's Bay economy which is great for the regions prosperity. With that come extra challenges to the environment and resources of the region.

"I would be keen to be a part of a council that is leading the charge in New Zealand showing a thriving productive sector, booming economy and enhanced environment all going hand in hand."

Currently on-farm Will is undertaking erosion control poplar planting, native riparian stream bank planting and investigating methods of reducing his fertiliser and chemical use while maintaining the profitability of the farm operation. Will says he intends to be a strong CHB representative ensuring the views and interests of CHB are well heard around the table.