Jamie Mackay: The Best Is Yet to Come for New Zealand Farming

If you hang around for long enough, I guess you get the chocolates!

And that was definitely the case last week in Auckland when I was accorded the privilege of being named the Agricultural Communicator of the Year at the Primary Industry New Zealand (PINZ) Awards.

It was the second time my name has been engraved on the magnificent pounamu trophy, the first being 2006. There was a lovely symmetry to getting the Gong again 20 years later, albeit I don’t fancy my chances of a three-peat in 2046!

The trophy, now in its 40^th year, was first awarded in 1987 and the inaugural winner, well know rural journalist Peter Burke, is still working today for Rural News! In the ensuing years the winners have included Captains of Industry, several former Presidents of Federated Farmers, primary sector academics and scientists, not to mention high profile farming leaders and innovators. I’ve cherry picked some of the winners (below) to give you some of the idea of the calibre of names I stand beside:

1989 – Frank Torley (Country Calendar icon)

1991 – Brian Chamberlain (former President of Federated Farmers)

1993 – Owen Jennings (former President of Federated Farmers and Act MP)

2005 – Dr Doug Edmeades (soil scientist, academic and raconteur)

2009 – Dr Rod Oram (business commentator and academic)

2010 – Dr Jacqueline Rowarth (teaching primary sector academic and author)

2013 – Doug Avery (the Resilient Farmer, author and speaker)

2014 – Bruce Wills (former President of Federated Farmers and QE11 Chair)

2018 – Mike Petersen (former Beef+Lamb Chair and NZ Ag Trade Envoy)

2020 – Katie Milne (first female President of Federated Farmers)

They have all been wonderful contributors to agriculture and the primary sector and have dedicated their careers to our wonderful farming industry. Some have passed and others, like me, are nearer the end than the beginning of their contribution. But we’ve all done it because we’ve all loved every minute of it!

Which brings me nicely to the next generation of torch bearers for farming. Later this week we will recognise excellence at the other end of the age scale when the 58^th New Zealand Young Farmer of the Year is named in New Plymouth.

I must admit I’m a bit biased on this one, being a true-blue Southlander who now lives in Dunedin. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing all the grand finalists in the past couple of weeks and I’d have to say I do not envy the judges. All seven of them are outstanding young, and eloquent, men who would do the ‘Cloak of Knowledge’ proud.

However, I’d love to see the Otago Southland region winner, Tom Slee, emulate his father Richard (1999) and his uncle Simon Hopcroft (2004) in taking out the title.

June has been a full-on month for me. Not only have I attended the PINZ Summit and Awards, but I’ve also celebrated another orbit of the sun by attending yet another Fieldays at Mystery Creek. I reckon I’ve been to about 30 all up, and this year was the best since pre-Covid days.

What really caught my attention this year was the number of young farming couples in attendance, and who can blame them, I can’t think of a better time to enter our industry. There is a real sense of positivity out there in the provinces and no doubt we will see it showcased in the Taranaki region later this week when the FMG Young Farmer of the Year is crowned.

Not to mention the Ballance Farm Environment Awards, also being held this week, that do a wonderful job of showcasing everything that is good about farmers looking after, and enhancing, the environment.

I reckon there has never been a better time to be a farmer, although some old timers who cashed in on the Korean War wool boom might beg to differ. Or my late Uncle Danny who returned from the Second War and paid off his Rehab Loan with two seasons of grass seed crops! They were market aberrations and one-offs. But you take them when they’re on offer.

While I acknowledge the pain the arable, viticulture and vegetable-growing sectors are going through, I’ve never known more forward-looking confidence for the likes of dairy, sheep and beef, and kiwifruit.

And Halleluiah for the sheep farmers! Lamb at $12/kg and, heaven forbid, strong wool at $6/kg greasy. Praise the good Farming Lord. About time.

Just to finish where I started, a final word on the media. As an accidental participant (my original career path was accountancy) for more than three decades, I’m rapt to be recognised for my contribution. I’m prouder, however, that I had the foresight to see the potential for rural programming on nationwide commercial radio networks.

I’m no Paul Holmes, Paul Henry or Mike Hosking. After all, I describe myself as a broken-down Southland sheep farmer with a stutter! I’m also fond of saying that you don’t have to be the best, but it sure pays to be the first. That was me in 1994. Back then I didn’t have the vehicle for a nationwide show, but I certainly had the vision.

What I have done has seen the spawning of at least three other nationwide commercial radio shows/podcasts. All of those participants had their genesis, or cut their teeth, on The Country (the artist formerly known as the Farming Show). Of that I’m proud.

That’s probably the most satisfying part of any career, not what you’ve achieved yourself, but what you’ve helped others achieve. It’s a philosophy shared at +MORE, where the vision is to build a network of like-minded accountants and advisors who back farming businesses, share knowledge, and help grow the next generation of rural leaders.

The rural sector these days is well served when it comes to media, not only in radio and podcasts, but also in a proliferation of good farming papers, magazines and online products. Farmers Weekly, Rural News and CountryWide immediately spring to mind.

Just a word of warning though, from an old hand in the media industry: beware of rabbit holes, particularly if you go down one. Especially when it comes to changing farming practices to suit that narrative.

Unlike a prominent world leader who decries the mainstream media, I believe by and large we are well served. To say otherwise would be Fake News.