Farm and station New leaders in all provinces

Press, 23 June 1978, Page 14

Farm and station New leaders in all provinces

This year each of the three provinces of Federated Farmers in Canterbury has a new president.

Mr G. E. Rennie has taken over the position in North Canterbury but is at present on a trip overseas with his wife, Mr R. S. Mackenzie is the MidCanterbury president, and a member of the wellknown Hayman family in South Canterbury, that gave the country a Ministrer of Agriculture a few years ago, is the new president in South Canterbury. He is Mr I. H. Hayman.

the Selwyn River from it. Theirs is a cropping and cattle enterprise without sheep. For two years Mr Rennie was chairman of the Ellesmere branch of Federated Farmers and has also served as chairman of the agriculture section of North Canterbury Federated Farmers. In August, 1975, he became a member of the Wheat Board and has also been a member of the marginal lands committee for the area between the Waimakariri and Ashburton rivers.

Mr George Rennie’s grandfather, Mr John Rennie, took up land at Doyleston in 1864 and up until about eight years ago when he sold it to his son, Graeme, Mr Rennie farmed part of his grandfather’s original Maryfield farm. He and another son, Laurence, now farm in partnership a total of about 500 ha (1250 acres), including a property at Irwell and also land across

The new president of Mid-Canterubry Federated Farmers, Mr Roderick Mackenzie, has had a varied career. Aged 55 years, he is a third generation New Zealander but was born in Canada.

Prior to coming to farm in New Zealand in 1966 he spent 25 years in t’.e British Army, with the la;.

eight being spent commanding parachute troops, including a regiment of the Special Air Service.

In 1967 he took over a farm of 194 ha (486 acres) at Eiffelton from his father-in-law, the late Mr D. C. Macfarlane. This has since been expanded and now in partnership with a son, Mr R. I. C. Mackenzie, Mr Mackenzie is farming 328 ha (820 acres) on the original property and a property next door acquired recently.

With Corriedale and Border-Corriedale flocks and a Hampshire stud and a few cattle, they winter some 2600 stock units, including their own replacements, and as well there are between 140 ha and 160 ha in grain and seed crops under spray irrigation.

Mr lan Hayman’s forbears first arrived in New Zealand in 1865 and subsequently farmed at Cust and Willowby. Of his great grandfather’s family of 18 one is still living. lan, who is 52 years old and holder of a diploma of agriculture from Lincoln College, farms in partnership with his brother Don-

aid, at Willowbridge, about 48 km (30 miles) from Timaru. The property includes 56 ha (140 acres) which they took over on the death of their father in 1959 and about 15 years ago they also took over a family property of 86 ha (216 acres) which when it was acquired by a relative about or before World War I was immediately put into wheat, with the resultant crop paying for the farm. In a district noted for its cropping soils about 80 per cent of the property goes into crops, which in-

elude about 40 ha of' (100 acres) of wheat. 12 ha (30 acres) of malting barley, 24 ha (60 acres) of peas (which in recent years have often been for processing) and 12 ha of oil seed rape and 12 ha of short rotation ryegrass for seed. Once potatoes were grown extensively in this district and Mr Hayman recalls that his father used to say that you could not farm in this district without them. Now there are only enough grown on the farm for domestic purposes.

About 350 to 360 ewes are carried for prime lamb production and normally 40 to 50 beef cattle bought in as calves. A former chairman and deputy chairman of the Willowbridge Young Farmers’ Club and advisory member of the club and chairman of the Waimate district committee of the movement, Mr Hayman was also chairman of the Waimate branch of Federated Farmers for two years and spent three years as senior vice-president and a similar period as junior vice-president of the province before taking up the presidency this year. For almost 20 years he has been a member of United Wheat Growers.

He is also currently chairman of the Waimate Process Growers’ Association and since 1971 has been a member of the Waimate County Council. He is farmers’ representative on the Waitaki Valley Acclimatisation Society and has been a member of the Waimate Rotary Club for 12 years. He is also a former president of the Waimate Golf Club.

He has played rugby and tennis as well as golf, is a keen fisherman and has been interested in rifle shooting and operatics and choral singing.