The sun faded car was well packed with paper and boxes on the inside, while the outside was covered with a thick layer of Marlborough dust. This was Colin King on the road, attempting to put some faith back in meat and wool producers that their votes do count in the Meat Board elections, and convincing farmers that their views will be heard, as a true farmers advocate.
Colin has shorn sheep most of his life and is a three time Golden Shears open champion and a longstanding member of the New Zealand shearing team. Last year he was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, for services to the wool industry. This is his first endeavour into farming politics, but he has been a close observer for many years, and he strongly believes this is the time for a wholesale change.
"Up until now I've been too busy trying to make ends meet," he said. "I'd shorn my way onto the farm by 29, and spent the rest of my time trying to keep the wolf from the door. Then you start to understand more about the dissatisfaction out there amongst farmers with the producer boards, and the impediment the boards inadvertently place in the path of progress. In the end I've thrown my hat in and aligned myself with the ordinary cocky, and the path of progress."
Producer boards are not meeting the needs of farmers and he intends vigorously attacking the levels of levy, with a real desire to get down the track to a single, cost effective pastoral organisation that delivers the needs to farmers.
He believes that with farming you can't differentiate between red meat and wool, what affects wool affects meat, particularly in areas like research and development.
"There are a lot of common issues, take footrot for example, it transcends both meat and wool, we should unite R&D funds, rather than being fragmented, and eliminate the duplication which is a huge cost to farmers."
"We can't do without it, we have to make progress and R&D is the way forward. Where are you without innovation? Applied and beneficial innovation. We need a united front to lever Government funding. Wool has got to find more uses and new products."
The departing Meat Board chairman John Acland also recently called for a single farmer organisation, and Colin's first action if elected would be to find directors inside the organisation with the courage, conviction and integrity to see it through.
"We need to build on the momentum of the Wool Board, they acknowledge they have to modify, there was a vote on McKinsey report that said get rid of the Wool Board and reduce the levy to 1%. That was the principle of McKinsey to the average farmer, to me, and the great unwashed. That momentum needs to be put right through the system." Colin said.
Mr King is also passionate about the young people in the rural sector, and stresses the need to support them. "We need to give them a clear picture, that there is a future in the pastoral industries, and that we can empower, educate and future proof them for a happy and prosperous future."
Those farmers who are registered will receive their voting forms for the New Zealand Meat Board Elections 2001, Northern South Island region on the 7th February with the last day for voting the 7th March.
