Peter John Feickert, A Tribute to an Unforgettable Kiwi Farmer
“If your dream doesn’t frighten you, it’s not big enough.”
By Chris Hayden
This was the catch phrase that Peter Feickert used to inspire the sheep farmers in the mountains of China.
How did this humble farmer from Whanganui (and in later years Taupō) manage to be chosen to share his agricultural skills in such a faraway place?
Over time, Peter shared more details – enough to fill a Chinese Opera – with myriad face-changing and dramatic comedy.
His stories filled me with tears of laughter as he recounted receiving an unexpected call from Dr James (Jim) Hudson Taylor 1, great-grandson of the founder of the China Inland Mission.
Jim Taylor invited Peter to go and meet the farmers in Sichuan, and when Peter asked who would pay for their travel, Jim replied, “Oh, you will.”
So, in 1995, began a life’s journey for Peter and his wife Merilyn – one that would use their Kiwi farming skills to transform a rural community in a remote region in China.
For the first three years of working in China, Peter treated the work as, ‘Just another farm consultants’ job’.
But, after that, things changed. The officials stopped asking for an Aliens Permit as Peter was now a trusted advisor.
The farmers had finally taken Peter’s advice and planted the fertilised grass seed correctly and fields flourished, and they were eager to learn more about animal husbandry.
Peter’s life became a mission to train the farmers how to produce extra for their families and for sale to help alleviate their poverty and improve education for their children.
After living in and out of China for 25 years, the contributions made by Peter and Merilyn were an outstanding success.
They had endured harsh living conditions, overcome difficulty in a strange environment and made an unselfish contribution, at their own expense, to rural development in Sichuan, China.
In 1998, Peter was granted a Friendship Award by China's State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs - a state-level award set up to appreciate and commend outstanding foreign experts annually for their praiseworthy contributions to China's social development and economic, scientific, technological, educational and cultural construction.
By 2017 the work in Sichuan has grown into:
• Formation of a NZ livestock team who shared the work in two provinces.
• Development of a demonstration farm at an altitude of 3,000 metres above sea level
• Successfully settling many villages with elite sheep with good genetics
• A mobile library for the village schools.
• Supporting and encouraging all the foreign farm advisers working in the mountains of Daliangshan.
Peter was often frightened in his journey, but he was blessed with the courage and skills to tackle the challenge.
Above everything, Peter’s great sense of humour helped him through the difficulties of working as a farm adviser in a foreign land, supported by a loving and talented wife.
Peter Feickert enriched my life and the lives of multitudes in the mountains of Sichuan and among his wide circle of friends in New Zealand.
I will never forget being invited out to dinner by Peter and Merilyn. Within a short time, my wife and I looked around to see the whole restaurant looking at Peter as he recounted his adventures in New Zealand and China.
People came up to him as they left to thank him for the entertainment and a few connected with Peter's time as a tutor at Flock House in the Rangitikei District.
Peter John Feickert passed away on September 24, 2025 after battling cancer. His funeral was filled with anecdotes of a life well-lived – a life of service to help others.
I will never forget Peter Feickert, one of the most genuine, honest, warm and generous characters I have ever met. He made the world a better place and left many farms, both in New Zealand and China, in better shape.
The demonstration farm that Peter set up has now been sold, but the work in China, along with Peter’s legacy, continues. Thank you, Peter Feickert, for a life well lived - 6 May 1945 - 24 September 2025.