New Minister of Agriculture and Biosecurity former Young Farmer

The new Minister of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Damien O'Connor

New Zealand Young Farmers welcomes the new Labour/NZ First/Greens Government coalition - and is looking forward to working alongside and forming a positive partnership with the Minister of Agriculture and Biosecurity.

CEO Terry Copeland said he was looking forward to meeting with the new Minister of Agriculture and Biosecurity, Damien O'Connor, to share the many issues and opportunities the organisation is working on to promote agriculture to rural and urban youth.

"As a non-partisan organisation we work alongside all parties and we look forward to having discussions with the new team at the helm to see how we can both further the cause of the New Zealand primary sector."

Mr Copeland said it was heartening that the new minister was a former NZ Young Farmer member who had also competed in a regional final of the FMG Young Farmer of the Year.

"Damien remains a long term supporter of NZ Young Farmers and we are grateful for his continued interest and support of our ongoing projects," he said.

"He is also an example of the wider part the organisation plays in developing and training future leaders."

NZ Young Farmers also plays a pivotal role in educating youth about the opportunities in agriculture including the Get Ahead Programme that seeks to connect urban secondary school students with the diverse array of careers needed to ensure the future success of the primary industry, he said.

"We know that education, and employment of our youth are high priorities for this new Government and believe we can add to that conversation with the many programmes we facilitate," Mr Copeland said.