Mr Hunt, who is the third generation to farm Fork Farm at Maungawera, near Wanaka, has taken over from Stephen Korteweg, who stood down after three years in the role.
Asked about his leadership style, the sheep and beef farmer said he would like to think he was approachable ''by all parties''.
''I welcome being able to sit down with everyone, whether we agree or not at the outset, and believe two parties, no matter how different their opinions are, we will always find common ground we can agree on and build on,'' he said.
Fork Farm, originally part of Wanaka Station, was bought by Mr Hunt's grandfather in 1928 and he bought the property from his parents in 1989.
It was predominantly a cropping and stud stock property until the late 1970s, when commercial livestock took over as the major income source.
Mr Hunt and his wife Lizzie Carruthers, who have two daughters, won the New Zealand ewe hogget competition in 2011.
They also won the sustainable resource management award in the Otago Ballance Farm Environment Awards that same year.
Mr Hunt was grateful for the support of his family and farm workers who had enabled him to take on the role.
Becoming president was a big challenge and it was also quite a commitment. He would try to do his best for members of the organisation based in Otago, he said.
Mr Hunt first got involved with Federated Farmers about 1989 but then concentrated on TBfree Otago, with which he was still involved. He was encouraged to stand as vice president of Federated Farmers Otago several years ago.
Mr Hunt praised the work of Mr Korteweg, saying he had done a ''wonderful job and really shown the way in how the organisation should work''. ''He's left the door open for that good work to continue,'' he said.
Federated Farmers had gone from an organisation in the past that was ''based on conflict with everyone'' to one that was ''willing to sit down around the table and nut things out and get the best outcome for all concerned''.
The policy team did an ''exceptionally good job'', supporting and lobbying on behalf of Otago farmers, he said.
When it came to issues facing farmers in the region, water allocation was a big one, and making the Otago Regional Council's plan change 6A work.
There had been a huge amount of investment, both by the regional council and other interested parties.
It was still early days but he believed Otago could possibly have the best water plan in New Zealand ''if we could get it to work''.
Farming incomes were down and the wellbeing of the organisation's members needed to be looked out for in times of stress, either financial or climatic. The resources were there to assist them.
Anyone needing support, or who knew of someone else they believed might be in need of some, should contact the Rural Support Trust, he said.
It was a challenging time in the red meat industry and it would be something he and meat and fibre chairman Simon McAtamney would be watching with close interest.
Farmers were conscientious about the stewardship of the land and were trying to do their best, he said.
Membership of Federated Farmers in Otago was good and he encouraged non members to join, saying without the lobby organisation, farming would become ''a whole lot tougher''.
He was also very keen to hear the comments and views of members.
''We need to hear the voice of people out there doing it day in, day out,'' he said.
His executive was focused on trying to find new ways of getting that information from people.
