Hawke's Bay sheep and beef farmer Bruce Wills has been elected president of Federated Farmers.
Mr Wills has chaired the federation's meat and fibre council for the past three years and won the vote on the second ballot at the federation's national conference in Rotorua on Friday.
[image:2378:half:right]The win has been described as an upset, as Mr Wills is the least experienced of the four candidates. He returned to farming about seven years ago after a 23-year career in banking.
But Mr Wills says his background will enable him to bring new thinking to the federation, with environmental issues mentioned as an area of focus.
He says the vote is a mandate for change - which is a positive, but experience is an issue.
"There will be some issues that we have to address because of that, but I think the balance is that we've got some fresh thinking, we've got obviously enthusiasm that comes out of a democratic process. So we're going to have to feel our way a little bit."
The other candidates were outgoing vice-president South Island high-country farmer Donald Aubrey, outgoing dairy chair Lachlan McKenzie and Canterbury farmer Frank Brenmuhl.
Mr Wills replaces Don Nicolson, who headed the farmer advocacy organisation for the past three years.
Mr Nicolson has criticised the number of candidates, saying it creates a tension usually found at the vice-president level.
He says it is not ideal to have such high-calibre people contesting the same job at the same time, and someone should have stepped back.
