Mike, Carl honoured for dedication to Feds
It was a double celebration at the Federated Farmers Manawatu-Rangitikei AGM last month, with life memberships presented to Mike Hoggard and Carl Lutz.
Carl Lutz accepted a life membership of Federated Farmers Manawatu-Rangitikei with typical humility and humour.
‘‘I hardly recognise myself,’’ Carl said, after glowing tributes from provincial executive member Geoff Kane, who presented the award.
‘‘I’ve always thought that if you lived long enough, eventually you’ll be noticed. At 95, I realise I’m perhaps cutting it a bit fine.’’
In the 1930s as a young boy, Carl had followed his father as they brought their cows across the Akatarawas to Otaki from where they’d farmed as town milk suppliers in Mangaroa
‘‘In Otaki they broke in 150 acres as a town milk farm. Carl had to do a lot of this on his own because, unfortunately, when Carl was 20 his father died. His brother went off to war and Carl was left to take over the farm after one year of secondary school,’’ Geoff said.
‘‘He remembers the days of the Great Depression, the war years, days of no electricity, no telephone service, poor road access. But he made a very successful farming business.’’
Carl grasped early on that being part of a team was critical to success. He joined Young Farmers, helped out neighbours and became part of local farming discussion groups.
‘‘Experiences like this made Carl appreciate the importance of Federated Farmers as a national advocacy group for all farmers working together.’’
He has been a member of Feds for 70 years.
Records of the activities and successes of the Otaki-Te Horo branch of Federated
Farmers can now be found in the local museum. Carl was branch chair from 1964 to 1969, and among other initiatives fostered a close association with the Women’s Division of Federated Farmers. His late wife Jean had been presented with a provincial life membership of WDFF in 1989.
As well as being a dairy section delegate to the Manawatu-Rangitikei province, just one example of Carl’s help to neighbours and belief in community involvement was a recent donation of 200 bales of hay to Riding for the Disabled .
The holder of a Rotary Paul Harris fellowship and a Queen’s Service Medal for his community service, Carl is still involved in the larger farm his family has built up from buying neighbouring properties, with his sons Erwin and Max, and grandson Clay, as shareholders.
He’s up at 6am each day and by 7am ‘‘he’s at the door, raring to go and get out on the tractor,’’ Geoff said.
In presenting Mike Hoggard with life membership of Federated Farmers Manawatu-Rangitikei, current president Murray Holdaway said he was one of a number of executive members that Mike had guided and helped as they got to grips with their roles.
Mike has served as treasurer of the province for 17 years, and has taken on various other roles since the year 2000. Before that, he was active in the Wairarapa province, rising to the level of junior vice-president at one point, when the family farmed at Kaitoke, at the base of the Remutaka hills, where he was a second generation dairy farmer.
In 1998 Mike and Lynn sold their farm and bought a bigger property at Kiwitea, near Feilding, so that there was more farming opportunity for the third generation of their family, ‘‘and hopefully the fourth,’’ Holdaway said.
The president said Mike has not only ensured that the province and its various trusts have been managed with financial prudence, but he’d been an ‘‘excellent conduit’’ between the province and wider Federated Farmers.
Years of dedication marked with life memberships
Bay of Plenty:
• Derek Spratt
Derek is well known for helping others in need, such as his work with MPI and Civil Defence to help the rural community during and after the 2004 and 2005 Eastern Bay floods. He spent 46 years as a Federated Farmers member and then held numerous executive positions for Bay of Plenty Federated Farmers, including provincial president from 2004-2008.
• Dennis McFetridge
Dennis has not only helped and shown kindness to younger people trying to get into the agricultural industry, he has also sponsored or donated generous amounts to young veterinary scholarships and the Bay of Plenty Federated Farmers Education Trust. He has contributed many years to both the BoP Federated Farmers province and the Western Bay of Plenty
Vet Club.
Marlborough: • Geoff Evans
Geoff Evans did what many other farmers would dread. He was elected as a Marlborough District Rural Ward Councillor and spent three terms (nine years) fighting for farmers, often alone on the Council in his opinion. Geoff contributed time as both vice-president and president of Marlborough Federated Farmers and showed great support for his wife Liz when she became president for Rural Women of NZ, including becoming a member himself.
Auckland: • Doug Gellert
Doug is well known by local council and farmers for plain speaking when it came to rural advocacy and policy. He committed many years to working for and representing the interest of farmers and was kind and welcoming to others, particularly women at a time when most rural women were expected to join the Women’s Division of Federated Farmers.
Otago:
• Stephen Korteweg
Stephen invested many years in various farming groups and is known for his achievements in farming by being named the 2001 Westpac Kiwi Farmer of the Year. He won the 2009 Otago Balance Farmer Environment Award and the 2013 Dairy Business of the Year NZ Supreme Award. On top of this work and great representation of farmers, Stephen also committed three years as provincial president of Federated Farmers Otago.