Act MP Andrew Hoggard: ‘Farmers are not afraid or reluctant to change’

Act MP Andrew Hoggard says Massey University's uniform of choice of Red Bands, rugby jersey and track pants appealed when he was deciding where to study. Photo / Alex Burton

Talking about himself is the subject Andrew Hoggard likes least.

However, the Manawatū dairy farmer and new Act list MP managed to do so for his maiden speech this month.

He has constantly heard over the years that New Zealand has to change its farming systems. “Newsflash: the difference between my first year of farming and today is like night and day.

“Farmers are not afraid or reluctant to change; we are constantly looking for better ways to do things,” he said.

“Change is a yearly thing. Every year, I and many other farmers in this country are always trying something new in our farming systems. Some work, some don’t; we adopt, we adapt, and it’s incremental. Like all good things, they take time.”

Dairy farmers talk with pride about how much fencing of waterways they have done, the former Federated Farmers national president said.

During his childhood, he learned about work ethic and community service from the example of his parents, who undertook numerous roles, from school boards to school sports, community service groups and beyond.

Hoggard described his education as “very much run-of-the-mill state schooling”, from Plateau School to Maidstone Intermediate, and then to Heretaunga College in Upper Hutt.

When deciding which university to go to, he visited Victoria University of Wellington and saw lots of hippy-looking types playing hacky sack. But at Massey University the uniform of choice was Red Bands, rugby jersey and track pants. “It was fairly obvious as to what culture was for me.”

His three years doing a Bachelor of Agricultural Economics laid the basis for his beliefs around the importance of free markets and that a fundamental level of efficiency will come when you do not interfere and let the market do its thing.

“As I went through my degree, I found the thing that I enjoyed the most about uni was working on the farm during the holidays.”

Hoggard said if it wasn’t for his wife Audra, he would not have been able to engage in various forums and be involved in farmer advocacy: “I have probably spent more wedding anniversaries at World Dairy Summits with farming colleagues than at home with my wife.”

He thanked his daughters, Michaela and Payton, for keeping him grounded and helping him recognise his place in the world “which is just below two cats, a dog, and several pet-day calves”.

“It’s a huge privilege to be in this House and to help shape the future for this country of ours, but it also comes with great responsibility to think those decisions through. The responsibility is probably no more evident than by the wreaths on the walls around us.

“Each of those represents a decision made in this House that was paid for by other citizens.”

Hoggard’s grandfather served at El Alamein in Egypt during World War II. He was captured and spent the rest of the war as a POW.

“The thing I remember the most about my grandfather is his vege garden. It was huge and meticulously planned out so that he always had food. He never wanted to rely on another human being again for food ever again for the rest of his life.”

Hoggard, who farms at Kiwitea near Feilding, entered Parliament at number five on Act’s list.

He is the Minister for Biosecurity and Food Safety and the Associate Minister of Agriculture and for the Environment.

Judith Lacy has been the editor of the Manawatū Guardian since December 2020. She graduated from journalism school in 2001 and this is her second role editing a community paper.