Being president means dedicating a lot of time to a variety of matters. I have a lot to learn but am fortunate that we have a great group of farmers on the executive I can full back on for assistance.
Read more from Federated Farmers here.
We need to continue to lobby local, regional council staff and politicians on environmental challenges and farmers need to become more familiar with up-and-coming changes.
As farmers we need to sell our good stories, New Zealand farmers produce good food, that's a great story.
I am not cocky about this role. To be honest I am a bit apprehensive. Alan is a good role model and has left big boots to fill.
This role will take me out of my comfort zone so it will be good for my personal development.
The area I want to push local Federated Farmers here is with community engagement.
I want to enable Rotorua and Taupo farmers to take part in local council and national matters, and given that we are an incredibly time poor industry, I want them to feel like they can be part of a team effort and they don't have to wear all the stress of farming – they can join us and together we can make real positive and constructive impacts for our community.
I see people around who were once members of our group, who pulled out on single issues, but we are a massive organisation – almost like National and Labour, we are better looking though, and so not every policy created will suit every single member.
We are not always going to agree with each other on everything we do, but if we stick together, we can achieve goals.
We are always working for the good of people.