Te Awamutu News | June 11, 2026

High-flying farm chief

Monique Balvert-O’Connor

As a teenager Mike Siermans thought he might become a pilot. Instead, he has become a senior leader in a sector grounded firmly in the land.

His appointment as Federated Farmers chief executive was confirmed in January after he spent several months in an interim capacity and coincided with severe weather that brought devastation to parts of the country.

Through it all he learnt first hand of the value of Federated Farmers in times of strife.

“We have a different perspective from emergency services as we know our farmers and can ring those provincial heads to ask

what is needed. The collective knowledge that brings the community is incredible.

“Federated Farmers is not just about productivity in farming; it’s about helping in adverse times. We can be the voice of our rural communities. This was demonstrated and is becoming increasingly important given climate change,” Siermans says.

From his seat at the helm during those trying times he worked with agencies to restore access so food and stock could move and spoke with farmers to ensure they stayed connected. Resilience and maintaining connections quickly became priorities.

It was a demanding start to the role and proved useful preparation

for future weather events.

With the storms behind him, his focus has shifted to travelling to as many provincial annual meetings as possible.

“There are 24 provinces and each has an AGM and I have tried to get to as many as I can, to meet people and work to identify their needs,” Siermans says.

Next on the agenda there’s Fieldays, where Federated Farmers will co-host an advocacy hub. Then, hot on the heels of Fieldays comes the Primary Industry Awards, staged by Federated Farmers on behalf of NZ primary industries.

He has been busy from the outset and says the role suits him.

“Within my career I have always looked to work for companies wanting to grow NZ Inc. I have worked for big, multinational companies and have a thing about putting my efforts and talents into making NZ successful.

“Working within the biggest export sector in NZ provides the biggest opportunity and prospect to grow NZ Inc forward. I am working in alignment with NZ farmers to do good work every day,” Siermans says.

The current Federated Farmers focus? In a nutshell, he says that would be financial and organisational stability and membership growth. The current membership of about 12,000 is

strong but says 14,000 would allow greater investment in advocacy and support.

“Advocacy is our game; our strength is our fraternity,” is his mantra.

“We are across the provinces, understanding what the issues are, and then we go to bat for our farmers. There is good, robust discussion and an impact on local regulations and national legislation.

I love that we are making a positive difference for them,” says Siermans who urges non-members to pick up the phone, sign up and support the good work Federated Farmers does.

Siermans says the call he received suggesting he apply for the Federated Farmers position was perfectly timed. He’d been interested in moving into another field and the agricultural sector was in his line of vision.

Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford acknowledges Siermans’ extensive senior leadership and commercial experience. Siermans, in return, considers it an “absolute privilege” to head an organisation highly respected by local and central government and farmers in general – one that’s highly influential when it comes to the future of NZ farming.

Before joining Federated Farmers, Siermans’ career spanned fast-moving consumer goods,

pharmaceuticals, and technology, with senior roles at Douglas Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Animal Health, and most recently at Taura Natural Ingredients. His 15th birthday present was a flying lesson but university beckoned, and the idea of becoming a pilot morphed into being a one-day leisure activity; that’s still on the cards, he says.

“I decided to pursue business. I thought that would be a good way to influence outcomes and do good work,” says Siermans who has both a Bachelor of Commerce (economics major) and an MBA from Otago University.

From varroa to Norroa

By Roy Pilott

A new “gene silencing” product which prevents the varroa bee mite reproducing is likely to become part of New Zealand’s pest arsenal.

But it will have to get Environmental Protection Authority and Ministry of Primary Industry blessing first, and that could take a couple of years.

Waikato is the second highest honey producing region in New Zealand.

University of Victoria professor Phil Lester told The News this week the biopesticide marketed as Norroa in the US is the holy grail of pest control because it only targets the pest.

“We all have a can of fly spray and that kills anything – but this is as specific as anything we can imagine,” he said.

It was lauded in the US as the first RNA-based treatment for Varroa mites.

RNA – Ribonucleic acid – is an acid present in all living cells acts and translates genetic instructions stored in DNA into the proteins that build and operate bodies.

Using Norroa, synthetic RNA is delivered in a sugar water pouch which bees consume and deliver as food to larvae within the hive.

Varroa mites are exposed when they feed on larvae within the cells.

Gene silencing approach works

in Norroa’s case by interfering with egg production. The Varroa mite itself survives, but the mite does not reproduce successfully.

Tests in two hives – one in the South Island and another near Palmerston North - produced encouraging results – and in an unexpected turn up, bees treated with Norroa lived longer and made more foraging trips.

But it will not herald sudden death for the mite.

“In our field studies across New Zealand we found that Norroa can keep mite numbers low over time. However, it works best as a preventative or maintenance tool, rather than as a rapid knock-down treatment when mite popula-tions are already very high,” Lester said.

The bee mite – first detected in south Auckland April 2000 - has wreaked havoc in the country’s hives, destroying more than 64,000 colonies last year – and resulting in a 13.6 per cent loss rate in the central North Island.

The mite attaches itself to bees and feeds on them. It weakens them and kills colonies.

Lead researcher Lester said three PhD students at the university over the last decade had worked on understanding how RNA works to switch of genes.

“Gene silencing has only been known about for 25 years – it’s a normal thing.”

WELCOME TO THE DISTRICT

The scientist looked at how gene silencing could be applied to pests such as Argentinian ants and wasps – and assisted with research work for US company GreenLight Biosciences which launched Norroa.

Asked if the “holy grail” solution could work on a broader range of pests Lester said it would be excellent to have a gene silencing approach as a highly targeted pest

control tool for mammals.

“…but there is substantial work still required. Mammals have many enzymes and protective barriers that make it very difficult for double stranded RNA to enter cells. In fact, you consume large amounts of RNA every day in a normal diet, and these same barriers mean it has no effect.

Lester was also approached for comment by Australian media this week.

Varroa mites were discovered there in 2022 in New South Wales, and they have spread to neighbouring states. It triggered an unsuccessful multi-agency plant biosecurity response, at $132 million, the biggest seen in Australia. An estimated 30,000 hives destroyed were during the first year, and wild honeybee populations are expected to be all but wiped out – as has happened in New Zealand.