Jessie Waite appointed as OSPRI regional partner for Taranaki

Jessie Waite has been appointed as the regional partner for Taranaki. Photo / Supplied

A new role with OSPRI has been created in Taranaki, following feedback from farmers about the need for more communication.

Jessie Waite has been appointed as the regional partner for the Taranaki region and is looking forward to supporting farmers with their traceability and animal disease management obligations.

OSPRI is a partnership between primary industries and the government, and manages two national programmes – NAIT and TBfree.

NAIT is the national animal identification and traceability system and TBfree aims to eradicate bovine TB from New Zealand.

Jessie may be a familiar face to some, having worked at Taranaki Federated Farmers as well as co-ordinating the Taranaki Ballance Farm Environment Awards.

The role will be based out of the DairyNZ office in Stratford but Jessie says she is looking forward to being out on the road, meeting with farmers.

"The relationship with farmers and community groups is crucial and it's great that Taranaki now has someone on the ground who is visible and can support farmers and actively engage with stakeholders," she says.

Jessie is also involved in the sector on a governance level, currently sitting on the Dairy Trust Taranaki board, as well as the New Zealand Young Farmers board.