Colin Holmes
Emeritus Professor Colin Holmes, of Palmerston North, received the Insignia of a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to agriculture. Professor Holmes has contributed to the dairy industry in New Zealand for more than 40 years. He is a recognised expert in pasture dairying systems. Since 1966 he has lectured on Animal Science at Massey University and in 1999 became the inaugural professor of dairy production systems. He was instrumental in publishing the authoritative dairying text, Milk Production From Pasture. He was a trustee of the Westpac Taranaki Agriculture Research Station for more than 10 years. Since 1984 he has organised the Massey Dairy Farmers Conference and been a regular contributor to the New Zealand Society of Animal Production annual conference. He has presented at many international conferences and published about 100 research papers. Professor Holmes won the Sir Arthur Ward Award in 1997, the McKeekan Memorial Award in 2004 and was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the National Dairy Excellence Awards in 2009.