From the Editor

It is somewhat a homecoming for me to don the Editor’s hat for Country-Wide.

Having grown up on a Taranaki sheep and beef farm and with a B Ag Science degree in sheep and wool production (don’t tell my Dairy Exporter colleagues) it is somewhat a homecoming for me to don the Editor’s hat for this publication.

While it is sad to farewell the stalwarts from the magazine, editor Terry Brosnahan and the boss, Tony Leggett, it is exciting for me to take on the challenge of keeping calm and carrying on producing great magazines when surrounded by a sea of change.

For while we as an industry will carry on producing top quality meat and fibre, Kiwi farmers are facing massive changes with the world itself evolving at a rapid pace.

Changing climatic conditions, growing customer expectations, increasing inequality of wealth and more environmental and animal welfare focus will put pressure on Kiwi farmers and agricultural businesses.

But NZ farmers have always navigated the seas of change – indeed over the years change and challenge has fostered a sense of innovation and can-do attitude. Slowly we are being armed with a growing suite of technologies and tools to face the challenges.

I look forward to supplying farmers with solutions to those challenges with stories of our top farmers using best practice to solve problems and kick goals onfarm and in the market, backed by the latest science, research and technology.

With two of my children launching into careers in the sector, I am watching the generational shift with interest and understand that the world is changing, we must evolve.