International Agri-Group Digs Deep for Farm Community

/ MEDIA RELEASE

8th April 2016

International Agri-Group Digs Deep for Farm Community

• Raising Over $40,000 for Rural School

A $5,000 donation for catering and serving lunch for 130 of Australasia’s leading agribusiness professionals turned into an impromptu fundraising event recently – with a rural school of 36 students receiving over $40,000.

As part of its annual conference in Wellington, the Platinum Primary Producers (PPP) Group visited a sheep farm and a dairy operation in the Wairarapa. The school children welcomed the delegation with a Kapa Haka followed by the serving of fresh, local produce including paua fritters, whitebait and crayfish for lunch.

The PPP Group was so enamoured by the children’s efforts it organised a spontaneous auction of six Allflex RS420 animal ID readers each valued at $2,300. The readers were donated by Wairarapa farmer and PPP Group Chairman, Shane McManaway.

He says: “The children were absolutely delightful. They made a tremendous effort to welcome us to the area and we, in return, wanted to give them our help and support.

“It’s the nature of the PPP Group to dig deep and support rural communities and we are all thrilled that we raised so much money for the school. It is a good feeling for us to leave a positive footprint after visiting this stunning area.”

Pirinoa School Principal, Troy Anderson, says, “We are all very humbled and cannot believe the amount of money raised for us. We are so excited and a little shell shocked, to be honest. Every rural school will understand the significance of receiving ‘outside’ money – and every rural community knows that when a local school is supported, the whole community is enriched”.

The school has since put together a thank you video for the Group, describing how they will spend the money – from upgrading their classrooms to buying heat pumps and having ‘super fast’ wifi.

Note to editors:

The PPP Group was formed by Wairarapa farmer, Shane McManaway, in 2005, as a means of building an agricultural bridge across the Tasman to encourage high level debate around issues affecting both New Zealand and Australia. From a handful of members, the group has now grown to over 130 of Australasia’s most influential agri-professionals – representing 12 million hectares (28%) of farmland across the two countries and over 20 million livestock units.

e n d s

© Scoop Media