Farming world loses two great innovators

Gladys Reid battled scientists for years to prove her theory that zinc protected animals from facial eczema.

Two giants of New Zealand's farming industry - Gladys Reid and Mervyn Hicks - have died, leaving contributions which will continue to be felt for generations.

Mrs Reid, known as the "Zinc Lady", who battled scientists to prove zinc worked as a preventative measure for facial eczema in animals, was 91.

When the remedy worked, scientists disputed her claim to have discovered it.

A dental nurse by training, from Te Aroha, in the Waikato, she was awarded an OBE for her pioneering work in the field of animal health.

She tried the zinc idea on her son's farm in the 1960s and 1970s before spreading the word to farmers and scientists in New Zealand and overseas.

Dr Clive Dalton, a former agricultural scientist and now curator at Waikato Museum, said that while scientists were slow to catch on to Mrs Reid's developments, others were not.

"As soon as the word spread that a woman in Te Aroha had a part solution, they were beating a path to her door," he told National Radio yesterday.

Dr Dalton said Mrs Reid was a hypothesist who liked to goad scientists into finding out more about facial eczema.

"When I talked to her, I always thought I was in the presence of a national treasure, a national icon, because her contribution cannot be measured in financial terms," he said.

Dr Dalton said eczema cost the country between $80 million and $120 million every year.

Mrs Reid's work was recognised last year with a lifetime achievement award at the Fonterra Westpac Dairy Excellence Farm Business Awards, and she was named on the Window of Innovators at Hamilton's Innovation Park.

Mrs Reid's funeral was held in Te Aroha yesterday morning.

Mervyn Hicks, who died in Tauranga aged 80, invented one of New Zealand's great dairy farming inventions, the Turn-Styles rotary milking platform.

After patenting his invention, Mr Hicks set up a company called Turn-Styles Ltd to develop the product and set up a national network of manufacturers to build rotary platforms to plans and specifications the company supplied.

By 1989, when Mr Hicks sold the company to Alfa Laval Agri, more than 1200 rotary milking systems had been installed throughout New Zealand.

The original 14-bail rotary is still in operation at Mangatoki.

Mr Hicks and his wife moved to Tauranga, where they bought a kiwifruit orchard a number of years ago.

In 2004, Mr Hicks' contribution to the dairy industry was recognised when he received a life-time achievement award at the Fonterra Westpac Dairy Excellence Awards.

- NZPA