Bruce King, who lives with wife Sarrah and their young family on a farm between Orange and Molong, was this week named as the new head of the federal government’s farm loans authority.

Mr King has about 15 years experience in finance, investment and agribusiness.

That has included grain trading, working with Rabobank in Sydney and overseas and running his own agribusiness consulting service.

He said he moved to Orange about 15 months ago.

Mr King, who grew up on a farm in Queensland said he was keen to help farmers hit by the drought and other disasters including fires in Queensland.

“The focus of the business for me is to help these people get back on their feet,” he said.

“My priority is to continue to support producers during these challenging times.”

The RIC has had a long gestation period but is finally due to open for business in Kite Street in February – two months behind schedule.

Mr King said he was finalising the selection of staff for the 32 positions available.

“There were over 85 local applicants,” he said.

Mr King said basing the RIC in Orange was an indication of its strength as a rural centre.

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“This is a new organisation. We’ve been fortunate enough to have it in the region,” he said.

“It is a real hub for agriculture and agribusiness. I think it really points to the go-forward nature of Orange.”

Interim CEO Matt Ryan will stay on at the RIC for the next month in an advisory capacity as part of the handover process to Mr King.