Hannah Ritchie, NZPork’s Environment and Planning Manager, joined NZPork in 2019, bringing extensive experience to the role.
Hannah grew up in ‘Shakespeare country’ in Stratford-upon-Avon in the United Kingdom and opted to study for her honours degree in environmental science because it encapsulated such a wide range of topics, including geography, biology, chemistry, physics, policy and law.
However, jobs in environmental science were scarce in the UK at the time, so Hannah initially worked in financial advice and insurance before moving to New Zealand and spending seven years with Environment Canterbury (ECan). She also worked for a year with the Foundation for Arable Research.
Hannah is responsible for leading NZPork’s environmental work programme, including providing strategic policy advice on environmental issues impacting on the rights of pork producers to farm and assisting farmers with implementing environmental best practice on farm.
“I act as a liaison between regulators and farmers. I liaise both ways, providing input into environmental policy at national, regional and local level.
“I take information from farmers to policy makers, to ensure they know the sector’s wants and needs and what is important for the industry. Then, when policy decisions are made, I support farmers in what they need to do to implement them.
“I really enjoy the variety and the fact that I get to work on a range of different types of issues, I work in a great team and I really enjoy working with pig farmers, they are a fantastic bunch.”
The nature and size of the pork industry and its commitment to best practice means pig farming has a small environmental footprint relative to other parts of the primary production sector, says Hannah.
“The sector currently contributes just 0.2 percent of New Zealand’s total agricultural emissions and our farmers are committed to farming practices that sustainably manage nutrients, protect freshwater quality, and enhance land productivity.”
Away from work, Hannah is kept busy by her two young children but when she does get some spare time she likes to be outdoors, walking, running or biking. She is also studying for a master’s degree in environmental policy and management.
