Beef and Lamb NZ mid-winter dinner focuses on healthy hearts and businesses

Dr Campbell White spoke at last year's mid-winter dinner. Photo/ Alyssa Smith

“If your heart stops nothing else will go.”

Bryan Hocken, a Beef and Lamb New Zealand Western North Island councillor, says the heart is essential to everyone’s health which is why it’s the focus of the upcoming mid-winter dinner.

“The heart is the powerhouse of the body.”

He is inviting farmers, and their “sweethearts” to attend the Taranaki Farming for Profit Mid-Winter Dinner next month. Inviting their loved ones isn’t just for the social side of the evening, he says, but also because people want to look after their loved ones and the evening will give plenty of advice on exactly that.

That advice will come from a range of guest speakers, including Dr Ian Ternouth, a cardiologist from Carefirst private hospital.

Bryan says health is an important topic and for the past three years he’s organised different health specialists to speak at the event.

“Last year we had Dr Campbell White, a consultant physician and gastroenterologist at Taranaki Base Hospital, speaking to us about bowel cancer. The year before Dr Giri Raj spoke about melanoma. We’ve got to look after our body. We only have one of them.”

Health is not the only key topic of the event, he says, with Sheppard Agriculture organising other relevant speakers for the evening.

Ellie Cranswick from Sheppard Agriculture says Wairarapa farmers Richard and Becks Tosswell will be speaking about farm management.

“They’ve won the Ballance Farm Environment Awards and Wairarapa Farmer of the Year. They’re a real inspiration and will speak about being resilient and sharing business management advice.”

She says Danielle Scott from ANZ will also give a financial update at the event.

“It’ll be good to hear about the market. This will be very beneficial to farmers.”

Bryan says everyone is invited but asks farmers and their sweethearts to register so there’s plenty of food available.

“This will help us with catering. It’s going to be a good event with plenty of learning opportunities and of course, some good tucker.”

The Details

What: Beef and Lamb NZ Taranaki Farming for Profit Mid-winter Dinner

When: Thursday, August 3, 4pm

Where: TET Stadium, 1 Elliot St, Inglewood

Registrations: beeflambnz.com