Dr Tim Mackle’s last day as DairyNZ’s CEO

DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle. Photo / Supplied

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As Dr Tim Mackle reflects on his last day as DairyNZ’s chief executive, he likes to think the dairy sector’s in a better place than when he started 15 years ago.

“On many fronts, we’re moving forward in the way we farm,” he told The Country’s Jamie Mackay.

“If you stand back and look at the progress we’ve made in the last 10, 15, 20 years - particularly around how we farm - with sustainability in particular - then I’m really proud of what farmers have achieved and how various organisations, like DairyNZ, have supported them.”

Mackle has seen a lot of change, challenges and innovation in his 15 years in the role.

He said the last few years had been particularly tough on farmers.

“We’ve talked about this a lot at DairyNZ, the pace and scale of regulatory change has been significant.”

Emissions pricing was currently top of mind but farmers had been tackling a few issues for a while now, such as water quality, Covid disruption and staff shortages, he said.

Mackle has always had an interest in science and started his career in Research and Development, before shifting to strategy; working on the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) back in the 2000s.

He was also around for “the very early days” of Fonterra, working with the late Craig Norgate, who went on to be the co-op’s first-ever chief executive.

“He’s a huge brain and he had a great heart too that chap. I did learn a lot from him.”

So what does the future hold for Mackle?

He said he had a few options up his sleeve and many farmers had offered him a role as a farm assistant.

He said one, in particular, had caught his eye.

“My brother was first in the queue because he knew I was leaving - he’s got first dibs actually this spring - so we’ll see how that goes.”

Whatever he ends up doing, Mackle reckons it will have something to do with the primary industries.

“Dairy - I love this sector, always have, it’s in my blood - but equally, I love the primary sector and the food and beverage [sector].

“What we do in this wonderful country - I’m very proud of that.”

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He’d also like to put his skills towards helping others.

“For me, particularly at my stage of career, it’s always been about purpose ... trying to help out with a big collective effort to achieve something that’s much bigger than you as an individual.”

He also had an eye on the future of Kiwi agriculture and was keen to use his knowledge to assist the next generation.

“I’d also like to help younger ones as well ... because I’ve certainly had a lot of help along my journey and I’ve been really fortunate to have some great mentors all the way through, some people who helped me, so I’d like to do the same thing.”