Coastal Mid Canterbury mixed cropping farmer Angus McKenzie says that being appointed FAR’s new associate director is an opportunity to gain boardroom experience.
“It looked like a good opportunity to learn about governance.”
As an associate director, Angus is able to observe the workings of the FAR board, but doesn’t have voting rights.
At Wairuna Farm at Lowcliffe and Eiffelton, Angus runs a cropping, small seed production and sheep and beef operation as well as an agricultural contracting business.
As a grower, he is actively involved with FAR and the wider arable industry. One of the leaders of a FAR Growers Leading Change discussion group in his district focusing on soil quality, he has hosted a demonstration site of cultivation techniques on his farm and is an advocate of crop health being an indicator of soil health.
Angus and his family have also led by example in terms of land stewardship, fencing off a lagoon on the farm where the Wairuna drain meets the coast and restoring the area with native plantings. The area is a demonstration site for the NZ Landcare Trust managing wetlands as farm assets project. Angus is also a member of the Hekeao Hinds Lowlands Catchment group committee.
His qualifications include a Bachelor of Agriculture and a Masters in Management of Agricultural Systems from Lincoln University where he received a Lincoln Future Leadership Scholarship. After Lincoln, he spent 18 months at FAR from 2014-15 as part of its graduate programme, providing support for researchers.
He replaces Fraser Dymond, a forage and cropping advisor for H&T Agronomics in Waikato, who has completed his 12-month term.
Fraser says he loved the experience “particularly as it is in an industry that I am involved with and have a passion about.
“There is a diverse range of skills and experience on the board and it was great to be part of that.”
Long-term, he is keen to be involved in governance, particularly in agriculture and the arable sector. He planned to go on a director’s course and apply for other roles as a way to contribute to the industry.