Lifestyle block owner new Fed Farmers Wairarapa president

The new President of Federated Farmers Wairarapa, David Hayes. Photo / Supplied

Federated Farmers' new Wairarapa president may be a "weekend farmer" but he has rock solid credentials.

If people were surprised that lifestyle block owner David Hayes had been elected president of Federated Farmers Wairarapa, it would only be because they didn't know the calibre of the candidate.

They may also be surprised to learn that Federated Farmers is reaching out to these "weekend farmers" and small-holders around New Zealand.

Hayes has rock-solid farmer credentials. He said, that in a province like the Wairarapa, lifestylers had just as big a stake in the prosperity of rural communities as towns folk and the owners of large sheep, beef, dairy and arable spreads.

Lifestylers also faced the same challenges, such as water supply and environmental protection, Hayes said.

Wairarapa president William Beetham had been elected to the Federated Farmers national board, and another local, Karen Williams, was elected as national vice president.

This, coupled with former Wairarapa president Jamie Falloon being "super busy" with water issues, meant Hayes was shoulder-tapped for the role.

"I asked them at the time, 'do you really want a lifestyler doing this?' They said 'absolutely'. Given what we're trying to do, I think they see value in having that diversity of thinking I guess," Hayes said.

No-one stood against him at the July meeting.

In a path many other former Wellingtonians have trod, Hayes and his partner, Masterton District Councillor Tina Nixon, initially bought their block at Rangitumau as a weekender. They grew to love the lifestyle and pace, and it became home.

The icing on the cake was that it's not far from Hood Aerodrome, where Hayes is now part-time manager.

It's certainly a lot greener and cooler than where Hayes grew up. His forebears came from Ireland four generations ago, to become crop and sheep farmers in South Australia.

"I grew up on a farm near Clare, north of Adelaide. We ran cattle and sheep, cropped and grew lucerne for seed mostly," said Hayes.

'It's one of the reasons I like the Wairarapa. As much as dry is a worry of the future, I quite enjoy a hot, dry summer."

"The thing we're so fortunate to have here is water. I grew up not really seeing water. We had things we called rivers but they were really only streams, and they only flowed through the winter. We relied on rainwater, windmills and bores for house and stock and everything."

"Now we have the luxury of living next to a river, the Kopuaranga. There's lot of concerns about water security in the Wairarapa but we're lucky to have what we have."

Hayes became a veterinarian and just prior to practising in the USA ran a large practice in north Queensland. Some of the work was on cattle stations and the territory was so large, small aircraft were the only realistic option for him to get about, especially if it was urgent.

Hayes originally came to New Zealand in 1991 to do further study on dairy cattle and epidemiology at Massey University. For one reason or another he stayed, moving on to work for LIC in Hamilton, including running their enzootic bovine leuckosis (EBL) eradication programme, and then to a role with Biosecurity NZ, where one of his biggest tasks was serving on the board spearheading the response and recovery efforts during the kiwifruit Psa crisis.

The former flying veterinarian is still an active pilot, though only for recreation now. At 10,000-12,000 landings a year, Hood is a relatively modest aerodrome by size "but it's quite unique", he said.

David Hayes at last week's "meet the general election candidates" meeting, hosted by Feds and Business Wairarapa. Photo / Supplied

"It's got vintage aviator World War I aircraft and you won't find that anywhere else in the world. There are Tiger Moths that people can go for a flight in, gliders, corporate jets, parachuting and of course Life Flight trust use us for helicopter and fixed wing rescue and medical flights – an absolutely vital connection for the community."

Two sizeable topdressing operators fly out of Hood. "In fact during Covid-19 we were quite possibly one of the busiest airports in the country. Nothing much else was happening at other airports but we had Ag aircraft coming and going all day long.

"Super Air and Aeroworks are both expanding, with more hangars to be built. They see a bright future, supporting farming."

The government also sees a bright future for the Masterton airport. Right when Hayes was taking on the Federated Farmers leadership role, the government confirmed a $10 million Crown Infrastructure Fund "shovel ready projects" grant, to go with $7m committed by Masterton District Council. It will pay for work to widen and extend the runway, better lighting and security fencing, and other core infrastructure.

For both his aerodrome and farming roles, Hayes sees a move – and a need – for town and country to listen to each other and work together.

"It's a long time ago but I come from an Australian environment where the rural urban divide is profound. Ninety per cent or more of people there live in urban coastal cities, and there's quite a big divide between northern and southern Australia.

"I come here and I don't feel the divide is anything like that. But there are elements of it, aren't there? And it will grow because we're becoming more urbanised. Towns are getting larger, rural communities are under threat.

"This province is motivated by how we can sustain rural communities, and all of the matters that might drive that. So we are grappling with some of those hot topics – forestry, water, regulation and compliance, sustainability."

"Of course in Southland, given their dairy farming systems, they're more dependent on winter cropping. But I fly over this valley (in the Wairarapa) and there's a lot of flat land with winter feed crops. So the new freshwater regulations are a big issue here too, without a doubt.

"Raising awareness and getting people engaged is one of the challenges for Feds."

Farmers aren't the only ones being pushed on water quality and quantity. Higher standards and requirements are also coming down the line in urban areas, with the Government pushing reform in management of "three waters" – drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater.

"All of us need water resilience. This last Autumn was pretty close to crisis stuff in many parts of New Zealand, particularly the east, in terms of the ability to feed and water stock."

Hayes hails the Wairarapa "Troffs" initiative – a vision for water troughs in every paddock brought about by collectively seeking funds and teams of people working together to putting in the piping and designing supply systems.

Federated Farmers is expanding its fold, offering a discounted membership option for lifestyle block owners.

"In a sense lifestyles are no different to a lot of farmers. There's a very big range of professions and skill sets in what they do.

"With lifestyles, at the top end you can have some people incredibly knowledgeable about animals and looking after the environment. But at the other end there are others who don't know what to feed animals," Hayes said.

"Federated Farmers has a role there. And we're all facing the same regulatory requirements so our policy work is of value across the board."