This is the 32nd year the title has been awarded and the second year of involvement by sponsor Ravensdown.
Six people were nominated and the decision was reached by a panel of 10 judges from around the country.
Petersen has been described as a superb communicator always able to deliver his messages in tune with his audience in any location anywhere in the world.
The Hawke’s Bay farmer has been involved in leadership positions within the agri-food sector for nearly 20 years.
During that time, he has been elected to positions on industry organisations representing farmers such as chairing Beef + Lamb New Zealand and his ability to communicate effectively has been a core component of those positions.
He has travelled the length of the country speaking to hundreds of meetings over the years, providing the opportunity for farmers to engage with their organisation and discuss opportunities for the sector.
Over the past five years he has spent a considerable amount of his time as special agricultural trade envoy, a ministerial appointment to advocate for the dairy, sheep, beef, horticulture and wine industries in their efforts to improve market access and trading environment.
In that role he travels abroad about six times a year to all markets of the world where New Zealand wants to improve market access and market reputation.
He speaks to numerous conferences and meets the complete range of stakeholders from farmers, industry groups, corporates, officials to ministers and Prime Ministers, dispelling myths and promoting the NZ agri-food sector.
