Year in review with DairyNZ’s chief executive Dr Tim Mackle

DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle. Photo / Supplied

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While 2022 has been a challenging year, the future looks bright for DairyNZ, its chief executive Dr Tim Mackle says.

DairyNZ was ready to focus on farmer profitability next year, as well as build momentum on the innovative initiatives launched under its Go Dairy campaign, Mackle told The Country’s, Jamie Mackay.

“There’s some exciting stuff, our Go Dairy campaign is going to continue on...we’ve got this Here For the Long Game [campaign] which is targeted at the public and trying to engage with them around what farmers are doing to be better.”

Apart from the public, there was another group the industry good body was particularly interested in engaging with next year - its farmers, Mackle said.

“At DairyNZ we’re on a mission to better connect with dairy farmers in 2023, we’re broadening our support in the events that we’re doing to be far more relevant to the needs of our farmers, so that’s going to be a big focus.”

As for 2022, there had been a few ups and downs for dairy farmers, especially when it came to the environment, Mackle said.

The Government’s continued negotiations with industry partnership He Waka Eke Noa on an emissions pricing scheme had been particularly difficult, he said.

Despite this, Mackle remained pragmatic about the situation.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got to remain positive and keep driving for the best outcomes we can.”

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The emissions pricing scheme was the tip of the 2022 iceberg however, Mackle said.

“There’s been some real confronting challenges for farmers across the board. There’s been inflationary pressures, weather challenges, and [a lack of] staffing on-farm for dairy and horticulture in particular. And with that inflation, you’ve got interest rate changes as well coming through.

“Responding to regulatory change, of which emissions pricing is not the only one, but certainly it’s been the big one [so] we’ve got to keep working hard at that one.”

Mackle was pleased to report that the hard work put in already was having an effect and that the Government seemed to be listening - although it had been a long road.

“Right up until that submission was put in at the end of May, the Government were party to that 13-partner He Waka Eke Noa partnership, so on that basis ... it’s a jolly shame - to use nice language - that we had to go through this angst recently with their version of it.

“But it looks like they are listening now, they have heard the calls for [it to] change to something that emulates what we put in in May.

“I think the resolve is there and we’ve been quite clear about that along the way that - as you’ve heard our chair [Jim van der Poal] come out and say - no deal is better than a bad deal.”

Mackle was expecting to hear the Government’s response to the emissions pricing scheme tomorrow afternoon, with further information revealed in 2023.

He was hoping to have a “certain level of certainty locked in” no matter who was in government.

“We don’t want to be jerked around all the time, farmers can’t afford to not know where the goalposts are going to be.”