The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country / Listen

DairyNZ CEO Campbell Parker on Bluegreens Forum and what’s next for 2024

The Country
28 Feb, 2024 11:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Campbell Parker is DairyNZ's new chief executive.

Campbell Parker is DairyNZ's new chief executive.

Content brought to you by DairyNZ

Campbell Parker, DairyNZ’s relatively new chief executive, has only had his feet under the desk since October.

Campbell took over from his predecessor Dr Tim Mackle, who held the role for 15 years.

Parker told The Country’s Jamie Mackay that he was “thoroughly enjoying” the role so far.

“It’s wonderful working in an industry like the dairy industry and [having] the balance of being able to work, not only with the team here and the board but also get on the road and talk to farmers about what really matters.”

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Campbell attended the National Party’s annual Bluegreens Forum, held in Waitangi over the weekend.

The event was hosted by Northland National MP Grant McCallum and Northland Regional Council chair Geoff Crawford, Parker said.

It was Parker’s first time at the Bluegreens Forum and he found the event interesting.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“It was actually a very positive conference; very focused on both environmental but also financial outcomes.”

The farming sector was out in force at the event, Parker said.

Opening hosts McCallum and Crawford were both farmers and Beef + Lamb NZ chair Kate Acland spoke as well.

Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford and Fonterra’s Director of Sustainability Charlotte Rutherford were also there, Parker said.

“Agriculture was certainly well represented.”

Listen below:

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon also spoke.

Parker said Luxon talked about “balancing the talking versus the doing” and getting things “80 to 90 per cent right”.

Mackay asked him how Northland was looking at the moment.

“Northland is always a mix in terms of this time of year,” Parker said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said crops were looking strong, especially maize.

However, there were still challenges in Northland, such as a reduction in cow numbers as farms exit out of dairy.

Meanwhile, Parker’s main priority for 2024 was to refocus DairyNZ.

He said the challenge for any industry-good organisation was to “try and do everything for everyone” which was difficult.

With that in mind, Parker had been working with the board on a rethink of DairyNZ’s strategy and clarifying its role in the sector and what key topics needed to be solved.

“A big element to that is also - how do we collaborate and work with others in the sector to solve ... the key challenges because there is still too much duplication and we want to reduce some of that.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“From DairyNZ’s perspective, we want to ensure we’re focused on the things where we can add the most value and then work with others that can add more value on a particular topic.”

This included working with Beef + Lamb NZ and Federated Farmers, he said.

“Our policy teams are also working hard, particularly around things like the national policy statement for freshwater management, to try and get an aligned view for the pastoral sector.

“So a lot of effort from the teams in that regard.”

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Listen

Rural Property

Dairy farm values steady, future growth expected despite challenges

Listen

Farmstrong: Abbi Ayre’s Shed Shout a hit with Reefton farmers

The Country

Chris Hipkins ponders a grand coalition on The Country


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Listen

Dairy farm values steady, future growth expected despite challenges
Rural Property

Dairy farm values steady, future growth expected despite challenges

Sponsored content: GM of PGG Wrightson Real Estate's monthly look at the rural market.

17 Jul 03:33 AM
Farmstrong: Abbi Ayre’s Shed Shout a hit with Reefton farmers
Listen

Farmstrong: Abbi Ayre’s Shed Shout a hit with Reefton farmers

17 Jul 01:53 AM
Chris Hipkins ponders a grand coalition on The Country
The Country

Chris Hipkins ponders a grand coalition on The Country

17 Jul 01:45 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP