Dairy Farms NZ appoints CEO

Dairy Farms NZ Ltd today announces that senior dairy industry executive Craig McBeth has been appointed CEO.

Dairy Farms, which recently acquired its first two farms 20km south of Ashburton, is an investment company that acquires and/or converts and runs dairy farms in the South Island predominately on a 50-50 sharemilker model.

Mr McBeth joins Dairy Farms from his previous position as General Manager Extension of DairyNZ. Over the past three years DairyNZ has successfully implemented a range of farmer change initiatives to achieve industry strategy targets. Mr McBeth has been instrumental in this success. Prior to joining DairyNZ, Mr McBeth spent over two decades in rural banking.

Dairy Farms Chairman David Belcher said, "Craig brings impressive qualifications for leading a dairy-focused investment business and we are pleased to have him join the company. In addition to gaining deep sector expertise at DairyNZ, he has a strong understanding of New Zealand farming and finance after many years in leadership positions with ASB Bank’s rural division."

As an employee of ASB Bank Limited from 1997 to 2010, Craig held several senior leadership roles in the Rural Banking team, culminating in his leadership of the division for three years as General Manager - Rural Banking.

Craig McBeth said: "Dairy Farms provides an exciting new investment model, allowing investors access to the dairy industry. It’s a unique opportunity to combine both my dairy industry and banking backgrounds to identify future growth opportunities for Dairy Farms."

Craig McBeth will take up the role with Dairy Farms early in the New Year.