Change pleases exiting Meat NZ chief

Meat New Zealand has undergone a sea change in the six years its chief executive has been at the helm.

Neil Taylor moved to the top job in the Meat Board in 1997 - as it lost most of its statutory powers in producer board reforms. He is now leaving it with the industry board headed to sufficient deregulation to give farmers complete say in how their levies should be spent.

Taylor steps down next month and will be replaced by Mark Jeffries.

Taylor, 64, of Wellington, has been involved with the meat industry for 33 years. He said he would continue to work in the sector but was looking forward to having "a bit more time" for personal interests.

Taylor said Meat Board legislation passed in 1997 that took power away from the board was the most important occurrence during his time as chief executive.

The Meat Board did not have the ability to buy and market sheep meat any more - a ruling that "didn't sit easily with the meat companies", he said.

Taylor said the act did mean there was more direction towards the transferral of information, research and development.

He said that during his six years at the top, Meat New Zealand had become a "much more focused" organisation that concentrated on issues that brought farmers a solid return for their industry levy payment.

Another area of progress had been Meat New Zealand's involvement in the development of biotechnology.

"It is something that has the potential to give the market a real lift."

Taylor said that he was pleased that the "huge" growth in genetic potential, concerning increased muscle size and parasite resistance, would continue.

Taylor spent six years, from 1989, working in Brussels and he said it had been "fantastic" to return to New Zealand and see the progress made in the re-positioning of lamb as a premium product.

Taylor stepped in as chief executive in 1997 - a time when New Zealand meat was the "envy of most of our competitors".

"The board did have a lot of control under the old act, and the new act removed a lot of that and the ultimate step now ... is to give the farmers a vote every five years on the level of the levy and the activities which they want the levy to be spent on.

"If farmers wish that to be different in the future, well then they have an opportunity to make that point through a referendum, which we expect to be held for the first time in July this year."

- NZPA