Central-Otago company director Kate Scott wins trans-Tasman agribusiness award
Central Otago-based company director Kate Scott has been named the 2023 recipient of the Rabobank Emerging Leader Award – a trans-Tasman business award which recognises outstanding up-and-coming agri industry talent.
Ms Scott, the executive director of Landpro – a company which provides aerial surveying, resource management, environmental and technical services for farmers and growers across New Zealand – was presented with the accolade in front of 1600 farmers and agri industry stakeholders from across New Zealand and Australia at the Rabobank Farm2Fork Summit in Sydney earlier today.
The summit also saw the presentation of the 2023 Rabobank Leadership Award to Australia’s National Farmers’ Federation President Fiona Simson, acknowledging the “vitally important” role she has played advocating on behalf of the Australian agribusiness sector.
And new awards – recognising outstanding rural community initiatives in both countries, the Rabobank Community Leadership Awards – have been presented to New Zealand’s Growing Future Farmers programme and the Albury based Boys to the Bush initiative in Australia.
Held annually between 1999 and 2019, the Rabobank Leadership Awards returned this year after a three-year Covid-enforced hiatus. The 2023 Awards were held at the White Bay Cruise Terminal, Sydney Harbour, as part of the Rabobank Farm2Fork summit.
Presenting the Emerging Leadership Award, Rabobank New Zealand CEO Todd Charteris said Ms Scott has been hugely influential in the success and growth of Landpro which she jointly established in 2007.
CEO, Rabobank NZ, Todd Charteris and Executive Director, Landpro, Kate Scott
“From an initial staff of one, the organisation now employs more than 75 staff nationwide working across a wide array of New Zealand’s agricultural sectors,” Mr Charteris said.
“Kate has significant knowledge and expertise in the areas of strategic environmental planning, including resource consents, project management, community and Iwi consultation. And this wide skill set has played a key role the company’s rise over the last 16 years.”
In addition to her role with Landpro, Mr Charteris said Ms Scott was also the Chair of the New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust (which runs the Nuffield Farming Scholarships, the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme, and the Value Chain Innovation Programme).
“Kate’s involvement with the Rural Leadership Trust spans a number of years, having been awarded a Nuffield Farming scholarship herself in 2017,” Mr Charteris said.
“As part of her scholarship, she travelled to the Netherlands in 2018 for a global farming conference, followed by an eight-week tour of six other countries looking at different farming systems and technologies. And later that year, she visited another six countries looking at environmental policies and new technologies that could be used in New Zealand.
“With her Nuffield Scholarship, Kate explored ways to enable better environmental outcomes in agriculture, including ways for New Zealand to reduce its agri-enviro footprint and to benchmark its environmental performance against other major agricultural nations.”
Mr Charteris said Ms Scott was appointed into the Rural Leadership Trust board chair role in late 2021.
“In the role, Kate has overseen further growth of the Trust’s three programmes as well as playing a key role in the planning of the 2023 Rural Leaders Agribusiness Summit which is set to take place in Christchurch next week,” he said.
On top of her roles with Landpro and Rural Leaders, Mr Charteris said, Ms Scott was a member of the New Zealand Institute of Primary Industry Management (NZIPIM) and the Institute of Directors (IOD).
“Kate lives on a small vineyard in Bannockburn with her husband and their three sons and is also involved in a number of a number of local organisations including holding the role of Deputy Chair of Thriving Southland and Wai Wanaka,” he said.
“Her vast experience has enabled her to be a valued contributor to New Zealand’s primary industries and the environment through her very successful business, and other industry roles.
“Kate is playing a major role in the future of New Zealand agriculture and she’s undoubtedly a very worthy winner of our Emerging Leader award.”
Community Leadership Award
Mr Charteris said the new Community Leadership award category was developed to highlight community initiatives that align with one or more of the key themes at the centre of work being undertaken by the Rabo Client Councils – groups of the bank’s clients in New Zealand and Australia, who work with Rabobank to address industry and community challenges in farming and agribusiness.
“Growing Future Farmers was set up in 2017 and partners with employers, industry and educational institutions to deliver work-ready graduates to the sheep, beef and deer sector,” he said.
“The entry-level vocational pathway created by Growing Future Farmers has provided new opportunities for young people interested in farming to learn on the job. It delivers structured on and off farm training over two years and has done a fantastic job of developing young people for careers on sheep and beef farming operations.”
Mr Charteris said the programme also highlights to young urban people the career opportunities within rural communities.
“And it’s been really pleasing to see a sizeable chunk of Growing Future Farmers’ participants in recent years coming from non-farming backgrounds,” he said.
“This year, 40 students from around the country are expected to graduate the programme making it the largest training organisation of its type in New Zealand. And the goal is to have 60 trained young farmers – and their dogs – graduating from the programme on an annual basis who are ready to take on quality jobs on sheep and beef farms throughout the country.”
The award was received on behalf of Growing Future Farmers by Gisborne-based farmer and programme founder Tam Jex-Blake.
The Community Leadership Awards winners in both New Zealand and Australia will receive AUD $25,000 to further enhance the respective programmes.
Rabobank New Zealand is a part of the global Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 120 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank is structured as a cooperative and operates in 40 countries, servicing the needs of about 10 million clients worldwide through a network of close to 1000 offices and branches. Rabobank New Zealand is one of the country's leading agricultural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the New Zealand food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 32 offices throughout New Zealand.
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Denise Shaw
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