The Beef & Lamb NZ Awards were held last week at the Te Pae Convention Centre in Christchurch to celebrate the best people, innovation, technologies and management systems in New Zealand's world-leading red meat industry.
Beef Genetics Manager for Zoetis New Zealand Amy Hoogenboom was awarded the Ag Research Emerging Achiever Award for her role in helping farmers to best utilise DNA technology as part of their farm programs to inform and improve their productivity and profitability on the farm.
She was described by the judges as a 'great example of a hard-working young professional' and 'an exemplar of an emerging achiever' with 'a massive passion for the sector and its success'.
With Kiwi farmers facing a number of different obstacles in the past few years in particular, Hoogenboom stressed to REX host Dominic George the importance of maintaining a positive attitude throughout challenging times.
"My comment was for farmers not to confuse resistance and resilience when it comes to change," she said.
"Inherently people are geared to be negative in our thinking but we need to see the opportunity for our sector long-term, look out past the immediate phase we are going through and what is the opportunity on the other side of this change."
Hoogenboom's role in the industry extends beyond her professional life, with her active involvement in the youth organisation Future Beef New Zealand and the New Zealand Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.
As someone who is deeply involved in the red meat industry both within New Zealand and internationally, she explained the crucial role of data and evidence in maintaining a successful export market.
"You know the numbers, the data, it does the talking. It can't lie. We still need to communicate our greater story alongside there, but with the way the world is moving, numbers are becoming a requirement, not just the nice, to have to demonstrate that."
Amy's insight into the intricate world of the beef industry, combined with her unyielding optimism and innovative approach, paints a promising future for the sector. Her work at Zoetis, and her commitment to helping farmers utilize DNA technology, is an exciting development that could greatly enhance the industry's productivity and profitability.
"The world needs to eat, so agriculture is not going away. It's just the way in which we operate and do things does need to continue to develop," she told George.
Despite recent challenges and the unknown that comes with a change in government following the recent election, Hoogenboom shares a feeling of optimism and encourages fellow Kiwis to adopt a similar view.
Listen to the full chat between Amy Hoogenboom and Dominic George above.
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