Richard Dawkins has been elected as Federated Farmers' new national meat and wool chairman.
Richard Dawkins has been elected as Federated Farmers' new national meat and wool chairman.
Karl Dean and Richard Dawkins have been elected to the Federated Farmers board at the organisation’s AGM in Christchurch, replacing Richard McIntyre and Toby Williams.
Dean, 36, who sharemilks with his wife Amie near Leeston in Canterbury, has been elected as the organisation’s new national dairy chair.
Dawkins, 35, farmswith his wife Jess in the Waihopai Valley near Blenheim.
He has been elected as the organisation’s new national meat and wool chair.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford said it was exciting to have two capable young leaders step up into significant national leadership roles.
“While they may be new to our national team, they’re by no means new to Federated Farmers,” Langford said.
“They’ve held senior leadership roles within our organisation for some time now.”
Dean has previously held roles as Federated Farmers North Canterbury provincial president and vice-chair of the national dairy council, while Dawkins spent five years on Federated Farmers’ national meat and wool council and two years as Marlborough province’s vice-president.
Langford acknowledged the role outgoing board members McIntyre and Williams had played in a significant revival at Federated Farmers over the past few years.
“Both Richard and Toby have been real heavyweights who were absolutely relentless in their advocacy for farmers and rural communities,” he said.
Langford said McIntyre was best known for his work calling for an independent inquiry into rural banking and had put a huge amount of effort into pushing for better immigration settings for farmers.
McIntyre had also pushed for changes to KiwiSaver rules, which Langford said would help the next generation of young farmers.
He said Williams’ impact had also been “enormous”.
“He’s the man who stepped up to put the final nails into the coffin of He Waka Eke Noa.
“He’s also led the charge in the fight against blanket carbon forestry on productive farmland, launching the iconic ‘Save Our Sheep’ campaign earlier this year.”
Karl Dean has been elected as Federated Farmers' new national dairy chairman.
Dean said it was a privilege to be elected to the board.
“It’s also been a huge honour to work with Richard McIntyre over the past seven years on the dairy council, and his 12 years of service haven’t gone unnoticed,” he said.
Dawkins said he was looking forward to leading a “young and dynamic team of meat and wool farmers who are passionate about the future”.
“The face fronting the ‘Save our Sheep’ campaign may have changed, but the team standing behind it remains the same,” he said.
“We’re ready to tackle the challenges sheep farmers face head-on.”
Langford said that, while goodbyes were always difficult, they also created an exciting opportunity for new leaders.
“Nobody has a job for life at Federated Farmers. Our roles are up for re-election every year, and there’s always somebody waiting in the wings ready to step up,” he said.
Langford said Federated Farmers was lucky to have “passionate young guys” such as Dean and Dawkins, ready to tackle big leadership roles within the sector.
“I know they’re going to make a real impact for farmers, and will pick up the fight exactly where Richard and Toby left off.
