For Canterbury dairy farmer Cameron Henderson, supporting Meet the Need comes down to a simple question: how can the success of New Zealand farming benefit more than just those within the industry?
Cameron and his family farm 220 hectares just south of Oxford, milking 750 cows, alongside dairy support and other farming projects on leased land. It’s a fairly typical Canterbury farming system – but Cameron has a perspective on the industry that extends well beyond his own farm gate.
He first became involved with Meet the Need nearly seven years ago, while serving as Provincial President of Federated Farmers. It was there that he worked alongside Meet the Need founder Wayne Langford as the concept was being developed.
“I understood the concept from the early days and really liked the idea,” Cameron says.
Around three years ago, Cameron and his family decided to make Meet the Need their primary charitable focus, rather than spreading their donations across a number of different organisations.
“We had donations going to a whole lot of different entities before that and decided just to narrow it all down and put it into one cause in New Zealand. That’s when our donations started with Meet the Need.”
When a Food-Producing Nation Has People Going Without
What particularly resonated with Cameron was the contradiction at the heart of food insecurity in New Zealand.
“As a food-producing nation we still have people that can’t afford to eat – there’s something about that just doesn’t sit right.”
For Cameron, farmers are uniquely positioned to help address that imbalance.
New Zealand has an extraordinary ability to produce high-quality food, and agriculture is a significant contributor to the country’s economy and communities.
“We as farmers have done very well, as has the broader food production industry, and we don’t want other Kiwis being left behind.”
While the Hendersons currently support Meet the Need financially, Cameron sees the principle as the same: farmers sharing some of the success that agriculture has created.
A Broader View of Farming’s Role
Cameron’s involvement across the farming sector has given him the opportunity to see agriculture from a number of different perspectives. But he says his belief in farmers supporting others has always been there.
“I’ve always had a view of wanting to not only work hard and build something for ourselves and for my family and kids and the legacy there.”
At its heart, he believes farming has always been built around people supporting one another.
Traditionally, that support has often happened within rural and farming communities. But Cameron believes the success of agriculture means that responsibility now extends further.
“Given the success that we’ve had as farmers as a sector within New Zealand, more New Zealanders really need to be benefitting from that.”
And I think there are long-term consequences if the rest of New Zealand doesn’t.”
For Cameron, supporting Meet the Need is one small way of ensuring agriculture’s success is shared more widely.
“Sharing our success, even in a small way , is key to everyone benefitting from agriculture.”
What Will Your Farming Legacy Be?
It’s a message Cameron hopes other farmers will consider too.
His challenge isn’t about how much someone should donate, but about thinking beyond the immediate success of the farm business.
“Just thinking about sharing the success that farming has brought to you and your family,” he says.
And perhaps, more importantly, thinking about what that success will mean when you look back.
“When you look back on your farming career, what’s going to mean most? That you hit high milk production, or that you owned 20 farms – or that in some way your business benefited more than just you and your family?”
For Cameron, the opportunity to help others creates a different measure of success.
“That you’re helping potentially thousands of people over your lifetime.”
It’s about legacy.
Building a Future for Farming
That sense of looking beyond the immediate is also something Cameron applies to the future of New Zealand farming.
He believes the current generation of farm owners has benefited from a particularly strong period of opportunity – from land development and growth to significant wealth creation.
But he doesn’t believe the same opportunities will necessarily exist for the next generation.
“If we want farms to be family owned, we need to be providing opportunities for young people to come through to eventually buy a farm,” he says.
Otherwise, Cameron believes farming risks becoming increasingly corporatised – something he doesn’t think sits comfortably with the values of many farmers.
“Keeping those pathways open will have many positive benefits for my farm today and for the farmers of the future. So, I think while we are successful and have the ability to support people, it’s really important that we do.”
A Small Share of Farming’s Success
Cameron isn’t suggesting farmers can solve every challenge facing New Zealand. But he believes they can play their part.
Meet the Need gives farmers a direct way to help ensure nutritious, high-quality protein reaches Kiwi families experiencing food insecurity.
And for Cameron, that connection between the people who produce New Zealand’s food and the people who need it is what makes the organisation so compelling.
“More New Zealanders need to be benefitting from the success of agriculture”.
For farmers considering supporting Meet the Need, his message is ultimately about looking beyond the balance sheet and considering the legacy they want their farming business to leave.
Because farming success isn’t just about what we build for ourselves. It’s also about what we can help build for others.
