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Richard Morrison is taking over from retiring president James Stewart to lead the Manawatu/ Rangitikei province for Federated Farmers .
Stewart was on the doorstep of Palmerston North and his successor, a sheep and beef farmer just north of Marton, will use his executive team more often to bridge the 45 minute journey to the main centre.
‘‘James was near Palmerston North and his focus was to bridge the rural urban divide. He has been successful.’’
He said the provinces were in good heart and his job was to engage with Federated Farmers members more.
Morrison said he was under no illusion that the president’s role would be difficult.
‘‘Everyone has a day job, lots of people have families, and members all want something that is slightly different to what others might want.’’
He said the region had about 650 members and they were from every corner of the province.
‘‘I think farmers are a bit introverted by nature. We’ll ask them the hard questions - about the direction Federated Farmers should go in.’’
Morrison said he would remain spokesman for sheep and beef farmers as the federation had been unable to find someone to take over.
‘‘But the good thing is, I have good relationships with farmers. I know lots of them.’’
The new father, of eight-weekold Henry he plans on splitting his focus between a new family, the farm and Manawatu/rangitikei Federated Farmers activities.
He knows there will be more work as a result of taking on the presidency, but his wife, Laura, planned to take Henry out to farms whenever she could.
Morrison said there were many dairy farms near Palmerston North and he needed to build relationships with them as it was not an area he was naturally familiar with.
’’But we have a new dairy chairman, Murray Holdaway and we have a great executive team.’’
It includes Richard Mcintyre, who was the sharemilker representative, treasurer Mike Hoggard, and farmers Brian Water, Ruth Rainey and Geoff Kane as well as Holdaway.
Among the new executive members are Hayley Hoogendyk, who won the dairy manager of the year at the national dairy awards, and Amy Weston.
The executive for Manawatu/ Rangitikei Federated Farmers also included vice presidents Fraser Gordon from Taihape and Paul Olsen from Opiki. Olsen used to be the Young Farmers president and knows the organisation well.
Morrison said the executive team was a great mix of experienced and new leaders and showed young people were coming through the ranks.
‘‘It is the next generation and farming is inter-generational. It will help entice younger people to the federation.’’
Morrison is part of a family farming business.
He said sheep and beef cattle farmers would have to breed worm and facial eczema resistant animals and avoid using more drenches.
The rural industry was a major employer which urban people forgot, he said.
‘‘There are the farmers but also the meatworkers, the truckies, the farm advisers, fertiliser spreaders, mechanics and many more which rely on the rural industry.’’