Business as usual, says new leader

Southland sheep and beef farmer Don Nicolson has been elected president of Federated Farmers after the retirement of Charlie Pedersen.

The changing of the guard took place yesterday on the last day of the organisation's annual conference in Christchurch.

Nicolson, previously the vice-president, said Pedersen had lifted farmers' profile and it would be business as usual.

"We are very concerned that we are having the right to farm challenged every day," Nicolson, 51, said.

"We do need to extol the merit of having efficient food production systems in this country. It's the lifeblood of our very economy."

New Zealand farmers were among the most efficient users of land and water resources in the world, he said.

"It's valid that we should all want to care about land and water use but we need to do it from a far more intelligent base."

The biggest threat to farmers' livelihoods was the legislated right to farm, and there was no compensation clause under the Resource Management Act.

"That's been a major weakness of the RMA," Nicolson said. "The public don't understand that when you take property you have to recompense people."