N. W. Taylor

Neil Taylor has pursued a career beyond the farm gate through work in the agricultural sector as a whole, both nationally and internationally.

His forte has been agricultural economics and farm management and his first job after graduating with a B.Agr.Sc. in 1963 was with the Agricultural Economics Research Unit at Lincoln. From there he moved to a lectureship in the Farm Management Department and completed a masters degree in agricultural economics.

In 1970 Neil was appointed Chief Economist to the New Zealand Meat and Wool Board’s Economic Service and eight years later became its Director.

His time with the Economic Service was marked by the rigour he applied to its analytical work and his consistently excellent analyses of what was happening in the sector. From the Economic Service Neil was appointed the New Zealand Meat Board’s Director of Trade Policy in Europe in August 1989. In April 1993 he became the Board’s European Director and held that post until September 1995.

Neil was “our man in Brussels” at a crucial time for New Zealand’s sheep meat access to the European Community and the country was served well by his exceptional ability to analyse complex economic issues, argue cases and advocate positions, and negotiate and help draw up international agreements.

Neil’s current role is Chief Executive of Meat New Zealand. He has steered the Meat Board through times of dramatic change and is regarded as having conducted the consequent downsizing of the organisation in a “very humane” way.

Neil was a member of the Lincoln College Council for six years in the 1980s, four of them as Deputy Chairman.