Farmers Launch Charm Offensive

3 March 2009

Media Release: Farmers Launch Charm Offensive

DairyNZ's Go Dairy campaign for 2009 launched 1 March with the bold aim of recruiting the hearts and minds of all New Zealanders.

"We want New Zealanders to be proud of our position as the world's best pastoral dairy farmers," says DairyNZ Chief Executive Dr Tim Mackle.

For the past five years Go Dairy focused on encouraging career changers to give farming a go.

Dr Mackle says as a growing industry, dairying needs more than career changers if it is to continue being the country's economic powerhouse.

"Dairy farming's future relies on having a much closer relationship with New Zealand society, to achieve a better understanding amongst policy makers, and to attract new talent into dairying, from urban as well as rural backgrounds.

"Media reports certainly show a high level of appreciation for the economic impact of dairying," he said. "However this doesn't necessarily translate into people seeing dairy farming as a career opportunity.

"We will be successful when more school leavers start to consider studies in farming and viewing agriculture as a career."

Dr Mackle said research shows most urban people don't even think about dairy farming as a career, or as a career option for them.

"People unfamiliar with farming often regard the job as long hours, poorly paid and low skilled.

"These perceptions are wrong."

He said today's dairy farmers are well educated, highly skilled and focused young men and women. Their business is information-based and it provides them with a constant set of challenges and decision-making opportunities every day of the year.

Many dairy farmers use computers and PDAs to run all aspects of their businesses, and the mobile phone is as important in the air-conditioned tractor as it is in the air-conditioned office.

Increasingly, young people starting dairy farming either have, or work towards, higher qualifications. Twenty per cent of workers in the agricultural industry now have a bachelor's degree or higher. Most of the remaining 80 per cent have vocational and school qualifications

This strong trend towards more formal training is because the skills required to progress in dairy farming are considerable.

Dr Mackle said that while some people talk about an increasing urban/rural divide in New Zealand, he believed it was more a lack of knowledge and understanding about farmers and farming.

"Because an ever-increasing percentage of the population lives in towns and cities, it's a case of out of sight, out of mind - we just don't have that connection with rural New Zealand that there used to be.

"We want New Zealanders to get to know our country's farming roots again and recognise the vital role it plays in so many aspects of our lives."

DairyNZ is also seeking to set the record straight on farmers' environmental record.

Dr Mackle says research shows many New Zealanders understand dairying's importance to the economy, but find it hard to reconcile this with a growing view that dairying is environmentally damaging.

"There is wide acceptance in the farming community and in society in general, that poor farming practice can have a negative impact on the environment. However, what isn't so well known is that the majority of farmers are environmental champions leading the way in sustainable land management and that New Zealand dairy farmers have the lowest carbon footprint of all dairy farmers."

Dr Mackle said it is unfortunate that some farmers still don't take enough care and breach their consents.

"Although they are a small minority, they are the ones who make the headlines and do neither themselves nor their fellow farmers any favours through their actions.

"We want New Zealand to understand that there are many farmers out there who are going to great lengths to protect the environment for future generations."

The Go Dairy 2009 campaign includes a one minute television commercial with four 15 second ads featuring different aspects of dairy farming's contribution - employment, research and technology, economic and environment.

Billboards in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and advertising in key publications such as The Listener and North&South complement the six-week TVC campaign, and point to the newly created website www.GoDairy.co.nz.

The website is designed to be the public face of dairy farming in New Zealand.

"Until now, there has been nowhere people can go to get the full picture on our dairy farms. GoDairy.co.nz now provides that," said Dr Mackle.

ENDS

© Scoop Media