Federated Farmers elects new national board

President

Bruce Wills was elected as the 28th President of Federated Farmers this morning. A Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer and a former banker, the farm he runs with his brother, won the rural category at the 2008 Hawke’s Bay Environmental Awards. Mr Wills was formerly chairperson of Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre.

Vice-President

Dr William Rolleston was elected Vice-President. A South Canterbury farmer, Dr Rolleston is a founding shareholder and director of South Pacific Sera and is the current Federated Farmers South Canterbury provincial president. Dr Rolleston also chairs the Ministry of Science and Innovation’s Innovation Board.

National Board

Anders Crofoot, a former New Yorker, farms the iconic hill country Castlepoint Station in the Wairarapa. An immediate past president of Federated Farmers Wairarapa, he is currently President of the Dunedin based NZ Grassland Association.

Jeanette Maxwell is Federated Farmers Meat & Fibre chairperson and is the first woman elected to the Federation’s national board. A sheep and beef farmer near Mt Hutt, she is a past participant in the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme, Federated Farmers leadership courses and the FAME (Food, Agribusiness, Marketing and Experience) course.

Willy Leferink is Federated Farmers Dairy chairperson and was born in Holland. He has progressed through the dairy industry from worker to sharemilker and now to having an interest in six farms in and around Ashburton, as well as a dairy cow nutrition company. He is also on the board of a local community project.

Ian MacKenzie is Federated Farmers Grain & Seeds chairperson and runs a fully irrigated vegetable/grass seeds and finishing operation at Eiffelton, near Ashburton. A Director of Ashburton Trading Society he sits on numerous boards. Mr MacKenzie is a former Nuffield Scholar and a New Zealand Farm Environment award recipient.

David Rose is a Southland sheep farmer and is a past Federated Farmers Southland provincial president. A former Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme scholar and former competition judge for the Southland Ballance Farm Environment Awards. Mr Rose is currently a Ministerial appointee to the Southern Institute of Technology Council. Mr Rose farms on the banks of the Oreti River and has been the Federation’s spokesperson on adverse events, rural security and employment and liaison with Rural Women New Zealand.