Old hand takes Wairarapa reins

The new Wairarapa meat and fibre chairman for Federated Farmers is an old hand at farming the region's unpredictable climate.
Born and bred at Mauriceville, Stephen Pound has been farming the family property for 25 years.
Educated at Rathkeale College and Massey University, his involvement in Federated Farmers stretches back five years and includes terms as vice-president.
Mr Pound says even with prices high for lamb and wool, there is much that will remain beyond farmers' control.
"So much we do relies on the weather. With the droughts we've had in recent years, it's trying to make the best of the climate," Mr Pound said.
"It's looking promising at the moment."
Mauriceville is known as a "wet summer area", and in a typical summer there is enough rain to carry new season's lambs well into autumn, unlike eastern and southern parts of the region.
In recent seasons, however, it seems all bets are off.
"We haven't had a typical summer for a few years."
A month or more of healthy rain has boosted grass in the region, but not yet enough to make up the poor spring and late, dry summer, Mr Pound said.
"Feed levels are still quite low; we need to build up a bit of a bank of feed at the moment."
Some things, however, Mr Pound believes farmers can control.
He is a fan of a more co-operation in the meat industry, despite the failure of the industry's latest attempts ending this year.
"We need more of a combined approach to marketing, rather than competing against each other overseas," he says.
Mr Pound spoke of a study a farmer had done to calculate how many of the previous 20 years his income had been equal to or greater than the average wage.
"It wasn't very many years ... we want a more constant and reliable source of income."