Learning and leading

At the end of March I had the pleasure of attending DairyNZ’s Dairy Environment Leaders 2023 Forum, held in Wellington. It’s been a decade since the forum first began.

] with Damien O’Connor ] Minister for Agriculture, Biosecurity, ] Food Safety and Rural Communities

The theme this year was ‘learn and lead’ and it was a fantastic opportunity to connect with the dairy farmers who are shifting the dial and leading the sector in cutting edge environmental practice.

Among the speakers were Ian Proudfoot of KPMG, Hamish Gow who is the current Sir Graeme Harrison Professorial Chair of Global Value Chains and Trade at Lincoln, Julia Jones of NZX, and Buck Shelford, who most would agree knows a thing or two about leadership and learning. I participated in a panel discussion with Parliamentary colleagues James Shaw and Todd McClay where we fielded questions from farmers.

I want to thank everyone involved in the forum over the past ten years and particularly Martin Bennett, Tracy Brown and Melissa

Slattery who’ve chaired the forum over this time.

There’s a phrase that says leadership is taken and not given. To my mind that means that anyone can take responsibility, step up and show others a better way of doing things.

This goes to the heart of how our producers have been so successful as exporters - we’ve shared ideas and adapted to change.

Ahead of the forum I took a few minutes to read the DairyNZ purpose and strategy. DairyNZ’s stated purpose is ‘to deliver a better future for dairy farmers.’ With that in mind, I asked the group to make sure they think of the future dairy farmers and not just the future of those presently dairying.

It will take critical and long-term thinking to meet the challenges of shifting consumer markets and trade landscape, sustainability and climate, alternative protein technology, and labour and ownership.

Much of this is to do with frame of mind.

For instance, He Waka Eke Noa can been seen as an example of tackling a tough issue. More importantly, it’s an example of seeing a tough issue as an opportunity to get ahead of our markets to meet our customers and beat our competitors.

Unfortunately the talk around emissions pricing has been all too much about short term thinking.

I can relate to farmers being worried about uncertainty. Farmers operate in a world where they have minimal control and are exposed to market shifts and the weather. Having said this, we simply can’t bury our heads in the sand on climate - for one thing, our customers certainly aren’t.

The reality is, if we don’t move then the world will move for us. Already, there is progress being made in the space of alternative proteins and synthetic fermentation. More people than ever are conscious about their consumption and they want to know that what they consume isn’t just good for them but also good for the planet. The Dairy Environment Leaders conference was a great example of farmers who don’t want to just keep up – they want to lead the charge. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, and I acknowledge that the sector has had a challenging time and that there are still challenges to work through. But the Government is committed to doing that work alongside the industry and we are committed to not only ensuring opportunities for farmers now but that the next generation of farmers have just as much opportunity in the future.

Every trip I take overseas as Trade Minister meeting counterparts, exporters and their customers, as well as consumers confirms to me that we are making the right shift to lift our sustainability credentials.

We look forward to the next decade of leadership from the Dairy Environment Leaders forum.