There’s a new name coming into the fold at DairyNZ. Adam Williamson, a farmer from Culverden, has been tapped to serve as the associate director for the 2026–27 term. It is one of those roles that actually matters for the long-term health of the industry—or at least that is the idea—giving people with actual dirt under their fingernails a seat at the table to see how the board level stuff works. He starts on June 1, 2026.
I can still smell the damp earth from a morning walk in Canterbury, which makes thinking about Culverden quite vivid. Anyway, Williamson brings some decent experience to the table, specifically from his work with the Synlait farmer leadership team and his time at Amuri Irrigation. Richard McIntyre, who chairs the selection panel, says Williamson was exactly what they were looking for. He’s already been putting his own time and money into professional development, which, let’s be honest, is rare enough these days. It sounds like he’s at that stage where the family and business are stable enough to handle the extra load of a national role.
He seems pretty chuffed about it, actually. He mentioned wanting to contribute to the future direction of the dairy industry, which is a bit of a standard line, but he specifically called out the upcoming levy renewal as a key moment. It is going to be an interesting time for that, considering everything going on—or maybe not interesting, maybe just a lot of work. Regardless, he seems ready to dive in.
Then there is Greg Collins, who is wrapping up his time in the role. He’s been neck-deep in the Milksolids Levy vote discussions and says the board experience was genuinely insightful. He’s a Northland farmer and the current incumbent. He’s heading out just as the next cycle begins, which is how these things go.
McIntyre seems to think Collins handled himself well during his tenure. He came with a background in the Fonterra Cooperative Council and the Northland Dairy Development Trust, so he wasn’t exactly walking in blind. “We are sade to see him go,” McIntyre noted, though I suspect they mean they are sad to lose a good pair of hands. Governance is tough work, and people like that are hard to replace.
They have a changeover process coming up next month. Both the outgoing and incoming directors will be at the May board meeting together. It’s supposed to be a ‘how far I’ve come’ moment for the departing person—a bit of reflection, I guess. McIntyre says the role is really what you make of it. You put in the effort, you get the benefits. Sounds like a lot of work.