Grant Rudman is our Regional Manager in the East Coast of the North Island and leads a team of 25 Farm Source staff in Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay, Tararua, and Wairarapa.
Let’s hear from Grant about the role.
Grant:
I’ve been with the Co-op collectively for 10 years. I originally started with Fonterra as one of the first Sustainable Dairy Advisors (SDA). At the time there were eight of us covering the whole country. My background is in sheep and beef farming then I got into dairy after university. In 2014 I was fortunate to join Fonterra Australia in an equivalent role to the Milk Quality Manager role that we have here in Farm Source. I looked after farmers in Southwest Victoria supporting them with milk quality, food safety and sustainability.
When I came back to New Zealand I worked for OSPRI, the not-for-profit organisation that runs the TBfree and NAIT programmes on behalf of industry and government, before re-joining Fonterra in 2018. My dream role had always been the Regional Food Safety and Assurance Manager role and I achieved this goal spending three and a half years in it. Then in February 2023, the opportunity to manage a team came available and I took up an opportunity as Sustainable Dairying Manager looking after the SDAs in the lower North Island and Taranaki. This was a great job and I really enjoyed it. The role was disestablished in the Co-op’s restructure and I was appointed Regional Manager covering the East Coast.
It’s a big area that we cover – Gisborne down to Lake Ferry in the Wairarapa. It’s over six hours from one end to the other, but I am positioned centrally, living in the Manawatu. Depending on the day and who I need to see, I’ll either turn left or right at Woodville to join the team. I try to spend at least four days in the field, out and about on farm or in the various stores, and then a day in the office to play catch-up.
On the East Coast, we have three different regional councils that we need to work with, and Gisborne has a dual agency. The team has a lot of ground to cover geographically but they do a great job, working and providing solutions for our farmers. We are really lucky that we have such a capable team. Whether it’s a store manager, TSR, SDA or CSAM, they all have a lot of experience and they’re really valued by our farmer shareholders.
Our Farm Source team interacts a lot with our community, and we are making a real effort within our region to build a strong connection between Fonterra Farm Source and farmers.
We’re working collectively to meet farmers’ needs – that’s what we’re here for. We want to support farmers and will make it a priority to visit on farm. We are only a phone call away.
Get in touch to find out more
Grant is just one of the many experts in the network, so don’t hesitate to get in touch with your local store or contact the farmer support team to find your best point of contact: 0800 65 65 68.