Wairarapa farmer to travel to World Meat Congress

Wairarapa farmer to travel to World Meat Congress in Cape Town, South Africa

Wairarapa sheep and beef farmer Guy Didsbury will travel to the 2008 World Meat Congress in Cape Town, South Africa in September as the winner of a competition promoted by leading agribusiness lender Rabobank.

Mr Didsbury was awarded the grand prize of a trip for two to the prestigious World Meat Congress when his entry form was drawn from more than 700 entries.

Mr Didsbury and his wife Andrea farm a 1700 hectare sheep and beef property in Pirinoa located 20km’s southwest of Martinborough. With Mrs Didsbury due to give birth to the couple’s second child in October, Mr Didsbury has invited close friend Jody Hume to join him on the trip. Mr Hume has a long association with Mr Didsbury, the pair having both grown up in Pirinoa on neighbouring family farms. Mr Hume now runs a sheep, beef and deer property in Rere, west of Gisborne.

Mr Didsbury and Mr Hume will also be accompanied on the trip by Rabobank finance manager Brent Irving.

The World Meat Congress is a biannual event which began in 1974. This year’s event is the 17th World Meat Congress and will take place from 7 – 10 September. The Congress will feature presenters from North and South America, Australasia, Africa, Asia and Europe and will be attended by more than 400 delegates from around the world.

Mr Didsbury said he is rapt to have been given the chance to attend the event and that there are a whole host of speakers throughout the programme that he is looking forward to hearing.

“I am thrilled to have the chance to attend the World Meat Congress and am sure that there will be a lot I can take from the event and apply in my own farming operation,” he said.

Mr Didsbury went on to say that the Congress would provide him with a fantastic opportunity to meet sheep and beef farming counterparts from other countries and to learn more about meat industry trends and markets.

Mr Didsbury and his companions depart for South Africa on 1 September and are hoping to arrange a number of farm tours around Cape Town prior to the opening of the congress.

ENDS

Rabobank New Zealand is a part of the international Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has over 110 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank has a AAA credit rating and is rated one of the world’s safest bank by Global Finance magazine. Rabobank operates in 43 countries, servicing the needs of more than nine million clients worldwide through a network of more than 1500 offices and branches. Rabobank is one of New Zealand’s leading rural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the country’s food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 29 branches throughout New Zealand.

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