7 February 2001

Media Release
Farming Media & Daily Media Farm Pages

More muddy boots help for Southland

WoolPro has a new pair of workboots on the ground in Southland, with former farm consultant Aaron Meikle taking up the reins on its extension team.

Meikle is no stranger to agriculture – his parents, Trevor and Gail Meikle, still run the family farm near Oamaru where he was brought up. He says he was interested in becoming involved in farming from an early age.

“I must admit I had decided against sheep farming by the time I’d left school – at that stage the industry was going through a downturn, and I left to study a Bachelor of Science in zoology, of all things, in Canterbury,” he says.

But when the family farm was selected as the first WoolPro/Meat New Zealand Monitor Farm in North Otago, he had a change of heart.

“It was really encouraging to see what could be achieved when farmers put their minds to it. Performance and production could be measured scientifically using objective measurements, clear goals could be set, changes made and big gains could be achieved.

“With that I got all fired up and went back to Lincoln.”

Armed with post-graduate diplomas in Agricultural Science and Commerce, Meikle began work as an agricultural consultant for Agriculture New Zealand, where he’s been for the last four years.

Now as the newest member of WoolPro’s team of extension specialists, Meikle’s role is to help work out research and development priorities, and get results of research back into sheep farmers’ hands.

“The sort of work WoolPro is doing is very exciting because, provided they have the right information, sheep farmers’ potential is virtually unlimited.”

Meikle joined WoolPro earlier last month, and is keen to talk to and meet more farmers and farm consultants in the Southland area.

Along with the existing extension specialists – Ken Geenty, Lew Willoughby, Alan Marshall, Richard Gavigan, and Robert Pattison – Meikle is able to discuss other areas of WoolPro involvement, including Woolnet and the Fernmark Quality Programme.

[ends]

For more information, contact:

WoolPro extension specialist Aaron Meikle,
tel 03 208 7140 or 025 846 377

or

WoolPro general manager Richard Gardner,
tel 04 471 4694, or 025 249 8820.