By Susan Sandys   January 5, 2012

Father of two teenagers Chris Allen had not expected to be at the helm of Mid Canterbury Federated Farmers so soon.

In November he was elected to the role, as former president Michael Morrow bowed out after moving to North Canterbury.
Mr Allen had flagged his interest in the vice presidency, but found after some former Federated Farmer district leaders moved to national ranks, it was the top leadership role that needed to be filled.
“We couldn’t have the province without a president, so I put my name forward,” Mr Allen said.
Mr Allen had taken over the chairmanship of the province’s beef and fibre section earlier in the year after former chairperson Jeanette Maxwell stepped into the national section chairmanship. Another leader to move on to national ranks was Willy Leferink, who moved from the local province’s dairy section chairmanship to take up a role as the national dairy president.
But while Mr Allen may well be surprised to find himself in the role so suddenly, he is looking forward to all the challenges it may bring.
He said he enjoys the “meeting side of life, and a bit of politics”, being able to influence decisions and outcomes.
On his to-do list is increasing the organisation’s membership.
In his first president’s column in a recent Federated Farmers newsletter, he urged rural box holders, to which the newsletter is delivered to, to become members.
“You may have had an uncle who 40 years ago decided that there was no way they were going to be a member of Federated Farmers. Joe was the president at the time and he said the wrong thing. Well time has moved on and I think Federated Farmers has been fighting on your behalf, now would be a good time to join up.”
He said Federated Farmers did more than fight negative environmental campaigns launched by other focus groups.
“We have paid staff advising and helping prepare submissions on behalf of members. They are effective and do make a difference.”
Mr Allen wanted to see farmers get the word out about the good job they were doing of managing the nation’s land for future generations. There was too much myth and misinformation about farming practices among urban populations.
Mr Allen is not new to leadership roles, having served on the Mt Somers Springburn School board of trustees for nine years, including three as chairperson. He is a member of the Ashburton River Liaison Committee and the Ashburton Water User Group.
Mr Allen and wife Anne-Marie farm 360 hectares at Ashburton Forks, with children Jonathan, 17, and Natalie, 15.
He is a sheep and beef farmer through and through, and has no intention of converting the fully-irrigated farm to dairy, as all his neighbours have done. He is originally from the Waikato.
“My parents were sheep and beef in amongst dairy, and now we are sheep and beef amongst dairy,” Mr Allen said.
Mr Allen is an aircraft engineer by trade, having moved to the South Island in 1980 to undertake an apprenticeship. He and Mrs Allen bought the farm in 1994.
The property sources its water from the Ashburton River and shallow wells, and has been developed in the past year by installing a main line and pumping water. It has a lateral pivot and three rotorainers, and a six-and-a-half hectare pond storing 150,000 cubic metres of water, enough water for half the farm for a month.
Growth of the irrigation infrastructure has meant a more efficient use of the water the farm has always had access to.
“The same amount of water is growing more grass over a bigger area, increasing water efficiency,” he said.