The Farmer Support and Relationship Advisor team provides dedicated support for Co-op farmers. We talk to Farmer Support and Relationship Advisor Marie Hicks about the role and how the team is helping to simplify compliance for farmers.
While I grew up in the city – in Hamilton – I’ve been working in the dairy industry for around 30 years. My introduction to he industry was through AnchorMart in Cambridge where I gained a lot of knowledge and fell in love with dairy. I then started sharemilking, milking 200 cows before making my way to 900 cows.
By the time I was 30 I had bought my first dairy farm near Morrinsville joining the Fonterra Co-op, and had children. It was quite a milestone but took a lot of effort to get there. We then moved to Matamata 18 years ago and around 10 years ago, we diversified into chickens and ran two separate farms – one dairy, one chicken.
While there are parallels between dairy and chicken farming there are some stark differences, particularly the audit programme. Dairy farmers have got used to Farm Dairy Assessments but may still grumble about the annual visit. As a chicken farmer there are four audits a year and three of them are surprises.
A year ago, I sold out of the farm and moved back into Hamilton to work for Farm Source as a Farmer Support and Relationship Advisor. Initially I looked after farmers in Canterbury, Tasman and Marlborough and now I look after the Waikato region, working with around 1400 farms.
Our team is farmer facing, helping to guide farmers through the Farm Dairy Assessment and other compliance admin, getting their documents ready for verification. We’ll contact farmers around two weeks out from their Farm Dairy Assessment to check that they’re all good to go or if they need support – which most do. We then help them through the process. They can call us for help.
We’re also on hand to help with The Co-operative Difference, updates such as the launch of the new Digital Diary app, and anything that helps simplify farm admin.
I spend a lot of time on the phone talking to farmers, and you get a lot of positive feedback.
"Many farmers will say “it’s so nice to have someone ring and ask if I need support or help or know that there’s someone else who I can talk to, not just the 0800 number”. We develop relationships with our farmers – it’s a personalised approach."
As a former farmer I know how hard farming can be. You’ve got compliance and regulations and a lot of the time you’re thinking “I just want to milk the cows”. At the end of the day though we’re producing a food product and it’s vital that we have the information and data. By and large, most farmers are very up to speed with what is required of them and the rationale – the “why”. Our team can help with the “how”.
I have one farming couple in their 80's who struggled to use computers for their farming business. Together we problem solved the issues over the phone and they completed everything they needed to digitally for their Farm Dairy Assessment.
Last year I helped one farmer earn an additional $20,000 by guiding him through the process needed for The Co-operative Difference. He had done everything he needed to do except fill in the food safety practices information. Over the phone we worked through the information together and within an hour he’d earned the additional 10 cents.
I thoroughly enjoy what I do – building rapport with people and supporting Co-op farmers.
For help preparing for your Farm Dairy Assessment contact your Farmer Support and Relationship Advisor on 0800 65 65 68.