Friday, March 29, 2024

Honours recognise rural contributions

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A variety of contributions to the primary sector were recognised in the latest Queen’s Birthday Honours. Dr Kevin Marshall, who recently featured as a Farmers Weekly newsmaker (May 31), was made a Companion to the New Zealand Order of Merit for his contribution to the food of bio-processing industries during his 60-year career.
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The former Dairy Research Institute chief executive and NZ Dairy Board group leader of research and development was involved in the development of whey protein concentrate and also helped to resolve complex technical issues between the NZ dairy industry and overseas importers and regulators, helping to elevate NZ’s status abroad.

He has held extensive governance roles and is currently chair of the Riddet Institute.

Also made a Companion to the NZ Order of Merit was Dr Max Shepherd, who was recognised for his contribution to NZ’s biotechnology industry.

From the mid-1990s he was instrumental in the practical application and commercial funding of science in NZ, predominantly through the establishment of start-ups, including A2 Milk.

His problem solving has contributed to a variety of projects, including rabbit virus management in Central Otago and natural botrytis solutions for the wine industry.

Northern Hawke’s Bay farmer Jim Brownlie has been made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit for services to agriculture and education.

Brownlie has owned Ngā Tuhoe Station in Ruakituri Valley since 1974 and was involved with the establishment of the East Coast Farm Cadet Scheme in 1980.

A former chair of the Gisborne AG ITO regional committee who also served on the national board, he co-developed the Waipaoa Station Farm Cadet Training Trust, facilitating a commercially operating farm where trainees could live onsite for two years. He was instrumental in setting up the trust’s ability to grant a formal agricultural qualification.

Former Rural Woman NZ president Margaret Chapman was also made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit, in recognition of her services to rural women and rural communities.

Chapman was president from 2007 to 2010, leading the organisation through a period of rapid growth and change.

She instigated the RWNZ Enterprising Rural Women’s Awards, now NZI Rural Women NZ Business Awards, and was RWNZ national councillor for the Canterbury region from 2001 to 2007.

A trustee of the Rural Communities Trust from 2007 to 2010, and of the NZ Landcare Trust, Chapman was an advocate for ensuring rural access to social, health, welfare and education services.

Also made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit was Fiona Gower, for services to rural women and governance.

Gower, who was president of Rural Women NZ from 2016 to 2020, represented RWNZ at the Commission for the Status of Women in 2018, held at the United Nations in New York, focusing on rural women and girls.

A Trustee of New Zealand Landcare Trust Board (NZLT) since 2016, Gower became board chair in 2018.

Relationships she developed with government departments and ministries, external and internal stakeholders, and other organisations, ensure that RWNZ retains a strong voice.

Professor Emerita Paula Jameson was also made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit, for services to plant science.

Noted for her research expertise in physiological and molecular plant biology, her extensive list of publications, and her support supervising postgraduate students, Jameson has undertaken major collaborations with the applied sector in areas of forage, seed production and fruit development, as well as researching the regulation of flowering of NZ’s indigenous flora. 

Her achievements have been recognised with life fellowships from the agricultural, horticultural and plant biology communities. She was awarded the 2019 Marsden Medal, recognising a lifetime of outstanding service to the science profession.

Former Federated Farmers president Bruce Wills was also made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit.

Feds president from 2011 to 2014, Wills is a former trustee of the NZ Farm Environment Trust. 

He currently chairs Apiculture NZ, Queen Elizabeth II National Trust, Motu Economic Public Policy Research and the Primary Industry Training Organisation’s transitional board. 

Wills is also director of Ravensdown and two of NZ’s National Science Challenges, Our Land and Water and Resilience to Nature’s Challenges, and a director of Horticulture NZ. 

He has represented NZ on international farming and trade forums as a board member of the World Farming Organisation.

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