Kate Acland is the new chair of Beef + Lamb New Zealand's board. She took over the role from Andrew Morrison, whose five-year tenure ended at the board's annual meeting in New Plymouth yesterday. Photo: Supplied / Beef + Lamb NZ
Beef + Lamb New Zealand's board has appointed Kate Acland as its new chair - the first woman to hold the role.
Acland who has been the deputy chair since June last year takes over from Andrew Morrison whose five year tenure ended at the board's annual meeting in New Plymouth yesterday.
She holds a bachelor's degree in viticulture and oenology and a master's degree in applied science, majoring in farm management consultancy, from Lincoln University.
Acland developed her own vineyard and winery, Sugar Loaf Wine, a processing and export business in Marlborough and now, with her husband David, operates a diverse group of businesses including Mt Somers Station, where they run 30,000 stock units in a mixture of sheep, beef and deer, as well as an 850-cow dairy unit.
"I'm humbled to be appointed chair, this is an exciting opportunity to represent farmers and the sector I'm enormously passionate about," she said.
"I'm personally optimistic about the future. New Zealand has a great history of innovating and adaptation, but right now farming is tough, and farmers are facing unprecedented challenges and change. I look forward to leading the organisation that helps farmers through that change."
Acland said there were lots of challenges ahead but Beef + Lamb New Zealand need to keep fighting for sensible and practical policy settings.
At yesterday's meeting, Andrew Morrison took time to reflect on his five years as chair, listing the moments he was most proud of.
"I'm really proud of our collective response to the m-bovis incursion; I'm seriously proud around how we worked with government and industry around provisioning through the Covid years and getting new central services in place so that we could still have a record export year for red meat that year.
"There's a whole bunch of other stuff as well, like the Taste Pure Nature, electronic ASDs (animal status declarations), The New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme, there's a lot to reflect on."
Morrison said he was looking forward to retiring from the role but he would remain busy with his other board roles with Ballance Agri Nutrients and The Wool Research Organisation of New Zealand.