Jess Blair (Collaborative Management Consultancy)

Jess is the managing director of Collaborative Management Consultancy Ltd, where she provides auditing/consultancy expertise throughout the primary industry. Currently, Jess is working with some great customers in this space, some which have a direct impact on NZ beef production.

Jess grew up spending lots of time with her grandfather on his sheep and beef farm; that’s where her love and passion for farming stemmed from a young age. She then went to study a Bachelor of Agriscience from Massey University; whilst at university, she worked in the racing industry, both here and in Australia. Throughout her working career post university, she’s continued to do further study, whilst working heavily in the auditing space, predominately with dairy, pigs & chickens, leading teams as a project manager. She has also worked in client relationship management roles, specific to animal welfare across multiple species.

Jess’s strength is in her ability to build relationships with people to help generate change, whilst looking on how processes can be streamlined for better use at a practical level. She enjoys being able to contribute to NZRSB in a positive way.

NZRSB - COMMITTEE

Kate Griffiths (Alford Farms) - NZRSB Secretary

Kate is originally from North Wales, where her family farmed sheep, beef cattle and dairy, she completed a BA History and Conservation and decided to continue with farming, moving to New Zealand 18 years ago.

Kate is the Compliance Manager for Alpine Pastures. She works with her partner Hayden McCambridge running the Canterbury arm of the operation, consisting of 400 ha of irrigated land, 200 ha of dry land, an additional 600 ha during the winter months and a Dairy Farm.

They finish 100% Grass-Fed Anti-biotic Free Beef and Lamb, supplying A2 milk to Synlait, members of the Lead with Pride programme, taking part in the NZFAP-plus pilot programme last year, and are working with ANZCO, to obtain Toitu carbon zero certification for their lamb racks.

Conan Moynihan (Force of Nature Consulting) - NZRSB Treasurer

Conan is an experienced rural professional who is a passionate advocate for New Zealand’s food and fibre industry with over 8 years’ experience in the environmental space and a number of years of practical farming experience. Hailing from a drystock hill country farm in South Canterbury. He has experience with a range of farm systems and a sound understanding of farm environmental regulations particularly within Canterbury through my role with Central Plains Water Irrigation Scheme.

Conan now runs his own independent farm consultancy to help farmers make informed decisions that lead to lasting positive impacts on their land and the industry as a whole. I focus on three key areas, agronomy (optimising soil and plant function), environmental compliance and business planning.

Conan is passionate about New Zealand’s beef industry and enjoys playing a supporting role to its farmers. He believes New Zealand can produce the most sustainable beef in the world that is environmentally friendly, socially responsible and provides real profitability back to the farm.

Meredith King (McDonald's)

Meredith King is the Sustainable Sourcing Manager for McDonalds ANZ with a focus on agriculture.

She began her career with Cargill Australia and as it became clear that the impact of global warming was going to be disastrous for agriculture, she turned her focus to sustainable agriculture farming practices.

Merri is excited about the opportunities working with the NZRSB Group presents for the industry in New Zealand, particularly as McDonalds moves towards being carbon neutral by 2030. You may also find Merri hiking one of the many trails across Australia and New Zealand.

Kelly Drake (SPCA Certified)

Kelly is an animal welfare scientist managing the SPCA Certified programme – an animal welfare certification programme that works across the entire supply chain to improve the welfare of farmed animals through science-based standards, independent auditing and meaningful partnerships.

Kelly has worked extensively in both industry and research across Australia and in the UK working with a range of farmed species, including cattle, sheep and chooks, as well as supporting livestock education courses in SE Asia, and Kenya.

She’s passionate about driving practical, positive animal welfare improvements and supporting producers, brands and retailers to meet growing public expectations and help strengthen their sustainability commitments.

Nicholas Jolly (Beef + Lamb New Zealand)

Nick began working at Beef + Lamb NZ in September 2019. As a principal advisor he works on a range of policy issues that support the increased productivity, profitability and sustainability of New Zealand’s sheep and beef farmers. He is passionate about the industry, having grown up on a high-country sheep and beef farm in the South Island.  

Following school, he completed a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts (Politics and Spanish) at Otago University. He has a Master of International Trade at Victoria University and a Post Graduate Certificate in Commerce from Lincoln University. Recently, he has completed levels 1-4 Te reo Māori through Te Wānaga o Aotearoa.  

Before Beef + Lamb NZ he worked at the Ministry for Primary Industries in a range of positions, including freshwater policy, biosecurity, trade policy, and export advice.  

Nick also leads engagement with organisations such as the Global and New Zealand Roundtables for Sustainable Beef and the Global Sheep Producer’s Forum.

Blake Holgate (Rabobank)

As the Head of Sustainable Business Development, Blake helps the bank’s ensure its clients are in the strongest position themselves to best manage increasing environmental, societal and market risk as well as seizing opportunities created by a scarcity of resources and a growing global population. This includes contributing towards Rabobank policy submissions to government on regulation affecting the sector, producing reports and podcasts for our clients which examine issues linked to sustainable farming and developing new products and services aimed at helping clients businesses be more commercially and environmentally sustainable.

Hailing from a South Otago sheep and beef farming family, Blake has an LLB, BA (Political Studies) and MBA from Otago University and practised as an environmental/public lawyer before joining Rabobank in 2013. As well as covering various sustainability roles with the bank, Blake has also worked in Rabobank’s global market research team as the NZ Animal Proteins analyst.  

Blake is a strong believer in the value that can be created, and provided to all stakeholders through the beef supply chain by working together to achieve shared goals and ambitious – and sees the NZRSB as an ideal channel by which to create the environment for just such a collaborative approach.

Craig Trotter (FarmIQ Systems Ltd)

As the B2B Channel Specialist at FarmIQ, Craigs role is in connecting the dots for technology partners providing practical solutions for New Zealand’s sheep, beef and dairy farming sector. His interest in the beef value chain stems from a commitment to improving transparency, sustainability, and value for producers and processors alike.

Craig’s involvement with the NZRSB is driven by a desire to contribute to meaningful sustainability progress in the sector and sees the role of the NZRSB as making solid strides in aligning industry interests and fostering collaboration across the entire supply chain.

When he’s not working, Craig has a young family and enjoys getting in the outdoors with them. He’s always open to new ideas and welcomes suggestions that can help NZRSB continue to evolve and deliver value to its members and ensure the NZ beef supply chain remains the most sustainable value chain in the world.

Amy Hoogenboom (Zoetis New Zealand Limited)