Beef breeder Laurie Paterson made ONZM

Photo / File

New Year Honours: Laurance Paterson, Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Southland beef breeder Laurie Paterson has been acknowledged in the New Year Honours for his long and innovative career.

Paterson, a former director and president of the New Zealand Hereford Association, has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the beef industry.

According to his New Year Honours citation, Paterson has been a key innovator for the organisation and has represented New Zealand breeders internationally.

"In his role with the Hereford Association he advocated for the establishment of New Zealand Performance Beef Breeders, which saw all major New Zealand beef breeds combining resources to develop a business which provides streamlined administration services for all breeds involved."

In the 1980s he recognised the value of new genetic evaluation software called BREEDPLAN, and introduced it to New Zealand.

He was also pivotal in the establishment of New Zealand's first-ever branded quality beef programme, Hereford Prime, and has been a director since its inception in 1992 and chairman since 2000.