Board
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Farmlands Board. Left to right: Steve Wyn-Harris, Roger Barton, Dennis Munro,
Lachie Johnston, Ross Linklater, Peter Wilson, Wayne Walden, David Jensen.
Lachie Johnstone joined the Farmlands’ board in 2000 and has been chairman since 2003. He has a commerce background and worked as an accountant before moving onto the family farm in the Waikato, which expanded to 935 hectares involving an intensive bull beef system, breeding ewes, cows and trading cattle. In 2004, Lachie scaled down his farming interests, moving to a 29 ha property near Pukekohe. He is joint managing director and shareholder of chilled and frozen food logistics company, Wholesale Frozen Foods. He is a director and shareholder of privately owned property holding companies Reihana Land Holdings Ltd and Maimere Properties Ltd. He was previously a Meat New Zealand mentor group member and has been involved in community-based farm research projects conducted through AgResearch and the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.
Peter Wilson joined as an independent director of the Farmlands’ board in 2007. He is a chartered accountant and professional company director serving on the boards of several national companies and lives in Wellington. Peter is chairman of Westpac New Zealand Limited and on the board of Westpac Banking Corporation of Australia. He previously worked in public practice in Hawke’s Bay and held numerous directorships of Hawke’s Bay companies, was chairman of Healthcare Hawke’s Bay and the Port of Napier Limited, has also chaired the former Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Meat Company during industry restructuring in the late 1980s.
Wayne Walden was appointed an independent director to the Farmlands’ board in 2006. Wayne is an experienced company director and successful businessman, with more than 30 years experience in the liquor, wholesale and retail sectors. He owns the Principals fashion chain and is a director of numerous companies, including Maori Television, and is on the board of the Auckland Transition Agency. He has an active interest in youth development and environmental issues, and is founding chairman of the Project K Youth Development Programme and founder of Guardians of The Kaipara. Wayne was previously deputy chair of Meat New Zealand and past directorships include Mighty River Power and Tranzrail. Wayne received an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) honour for services to business and the community in 2007.
Ross Linklater is a fourth generation farmer from Manawatu. He has four farming properties totalling 534 hectares, with sheep, beef, deer and cropping operations. He joined the Farmlands’ board in 1996 and has been a Farmlands’ shareholder since 1980 through the merger with Central Rural Traders. Ross is a Palmerston North City councillor and deputy chair of the council’s finance committee. He is actively involved in community affairs through his membership of Lions and previously chaired the service club’s Tour de Manawatu cycling event, which has become a national attraction.
David Jensen joined the Farmlands’ board in 2006 and is chairman of its audit committee. David lives at Pyes Pa, Tauranga, where he has a 300 hectare dairy farm, 14 ha of kiwifruit and 5 ha of avocados. David is a director of Satara, a New Zealand kiwifruit and avocado co-operative. He is also on the executive of Tauranga-Katikati Vet Club. Previous positions include director on the Livestock Improvement Regional Board, farm consultancy for the New Zealand Dairy Board, a councillor of both the New Zealand Dairy Group and Livestock Improvement, manager of the National Dairy Excellence Awards and grower director and past chairman of AvoFresh (Avocado).
Steve was elected to the Farmlands board in 2003. He farms 350 hectares of easy hill country near Takapau running breeding ewes including a Coopworth stud and bull beef. He was Hawke’s Bay Farmer of the Year in 1994 and the property was a monitor farm for four years. He served six years on the Landcorp board and has held various positions on a number of community, school and sporting bodies. Steve hosts a rural radio show twice a week and writes a weekly rural newspaper column.
Dennis Munro joined the Farmlands’ board in 2002. Dennis farms ‘Kohitane’, a 1,100 hectare sheep and cattle property near Wairoa, in northern Hawke’s Bay. He is chairman of QRS, the Wairoa District Council’s roading company, chairman of the McRae Trust, a hill country property recognised for its sustainable land use projects, and a trustee of the Tairawhiti Land Development Trust. He has given extensive service to the rural sector through Federated Farmers, as Wairoa branch chairman, Gisborne – Wairoa meat and wool chairman and electoral college member, and is a life member of Wairoa A&P Society. Dennis was recipient of a Nuffield Farming Scholarship in 1992.
Roger Barton joined the Farmlands board in 1998. He farms at ‘Stonestead’, a 600 hectare property west of Greytown in the Wairarapa. A large portion of the farm is under QE11 convenant. Roger is a director of Ovis Management Limited, which has responsibilities for education and control of sheep measles, he served 12 years on the Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre Board, four as chairman. Roger has served on Federated Farmers at both provincial and national level and represented farmers on the Agricultural Health and Safety Council for eight years. He is a trustee on Wairarapa’s New Zealand Shear Discovery Centre and the John Daniel Memorial Trust. Roger was a Nuffield Farming Scholar in 1995.