Matt Ross joins board of farmer co-operative

Matt Ross has been elected to the board of the farmer-owned co-operative LIC for a four-year term. Photo / Supplied

A North Otago farmer who was an LIC artificial breeding technician in 1995 is now one of its directors.

Matt Ross has been elected to the board of the farmer-owned co-operative for a four-year term. He replaces retired Pleasant Point director Alvin Reid.

Mr Ross and his wife, Julie, milk 1800 cows on 580ha near Duntroon. They were 2007 New Zealand Sharemilkers of the Year and won the inaugural Waianakarua and Waiareka Valley Lions Clubs' greenfeed winter cropping contest in 2015.

Mr Ross has a Massey University degree in applied science and Mrs Ross a Lincoln University agricultural science degree. She was an LIC consultancy officer in the 1990s.

The couple went sharemilking in 2001 and bought land in the Waitaki Valley in 2005. They had converted it to dairying by June 2006 and doubled their herd in its second year. The Rosses expanded their landholding in 2012, carrying out another dairy conversion. The 75ha run-off where they grew fodder beet was leased as a place to winter all their cows.

When they hosted delegates during last year's Irrigation New Zealand conference, their property was hailed a showcase of lush pasture, impressive infrastructure, and a wetland with more than 100,000 plants. Whereas their land used to support just two households, it now provides full-time work for 12 staff.

Mr Ross has been an Irrigation New Zealand director, chairman of the Maerewhenua District Water Resource Company, a member of the Dairy Environmental Leaders Forum, and is a graduate of the Fonterra Governance Development Programme.

LIC's re-elected chairman, Nelson farmer Murray King, said the election result provided a balance of freshness and continuity for the board.

''Matt's appointment is an acknowledgement of his professional and farming expertise. I am honoured to be re-elected by shareholders, and to finish the work that we have started at LIC,'' Mr King said.

He acknowledged Mr Reid's 19-year service.

''Alvin has been a hard-working and dedicated director always acting with the very best interests of New Zealand dairy farmers at heart.

''He has not been afraid to challenge boundaries and has been instrumental in many of the technology advancements in the industry that we now take for granted.''