By Imogen Brankin, Silver Fern Farms On Farm Sustainability Advisor and member of the Rangatahi Advisory Panel
The views expressed by Imogen are her own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of our Leading Partner, Silver Fern Farms whom Imogen represents.
For me, the success of our environment and our farmers is inherently intertwined. Farmers understand the value and importance of our natural resources better than most. A quarter of our remaining indigenous biodiversity sits on farmland. With the right structures, support and funding, farmers can – and want to – play a major role in strengthening the health of our environment.
I’m fortunate to have these types of conversations every day. I grew up in Drummond in Southland on my parents’ sheep farm, so agriculture has always been part of my world.
I joined Silver Fern Farms’ three-year graduate programme straight out of Lincoln University five years ago. My first year was with the sustainability and risk team. Most of the work was processing-plant focused, but I got a small taste of the on-farm work. In my second year I moved into the marketing team and looked after our “rest of world” markets – Japan, Korea, the Middle East and Europe. It was a crash course in the other end of the supply chain. Until then, my perspective had mostly been what you see growing up on a farm: stock go out the gate and that’s that. Seeing how our products land in global markets gave me really invaluable insights that I use daily in my farmer-facing role.
As an on-farm sustainability advisor based in Christchurch I spend a lot of time on the road and out on farms, helping farmers navigate market-led sustainability expectations. A key part of my role is supporting farmers through the New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme Plus. At its core, it’s about demonstrating to markets that we’re farming sustainably and ethically. It’s a part of the job that I love because my driver is helping our farmers strengthen their businesses and the sector overall.
I learned about the Rangatahi Advisory Panel through Silver Fern Farms’ involvement with The Aotearoa Circle. My manager, Ryan MacArthur, was previously on the panel, and Maggie Powell, a fellow graduate, was also involved. I applied while I was in Australia doing cattle mustering inland from Cairns. I spent six weeks on horseback – despite not knowing how to ride before I arrived! Their farming practices are completely different, and it reinforced for me how valuable it is to understand a range of systems globally. There’s always something to learn and bring back to New Zealand.
Now that I’m on the Rangatahi Advisory Panel I’m looking forward to contributing a practical voice on natural capital and solutions. I’m not about fluff; I’m about action and understanding the challenges and opportunities clearly and helping connect them to what’s happening on the ground.
A big part of lifting our natural capital is improving understanding of environmental impacts – both positive and negative. Data and evidence are essential. We should be reporting environmental performance with the same clarity and consistency as profitability. That transparency builds trust and helps us make informed decisions about how to improve.
If I imagine the future of New Zealand’s food and fibre sector, it’s one that is nature positive. I see bespoke, integrated farm systems that provide the ecosystem services our country – and increasingly, the world – needs. I see innovation and technology supporting nature-based solutions. And I see leaders championing a clear vision, bringing people with them as we tackle some of the biggest challenges of our time.
I would also like to see us track progress against metrics like Earth Overshoot Day throughout the whole year. It’s confronting that humanity’s resource use has now exceeded what the Earth can regenerate. That should spark more urgent conversations about how we reduce our resource use and improve resilience.
Outside of work, I enjoy keeping fit, spending time in the kitchen cooking and being outdoors, whether that is catching up with friends, back on the home farm or fishing. I’m also involved in my local Dunsandel Young Farmers Club which I’m currently secretary of.'
