The role, which Stacey has held for the past three years, sees her lead a small team responsible for planning and delivering the Co-op's events for farmers across the country - everything from conferences and end-of-season dinners to Pieday Fridays and other store events - as well as managing Fonterra's Farmers Lounge at Fieldays and sponsorship of industry events such as the Dairy Women's Network and New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards.
Together Stacey and her team, supported by the Farm Source field team, deliver around 800-1,000 events per year, however she is quick to point out that the true measure of success for events is in the quality, not the quantity.
"The main purpose of our events is to build a connection between the Co-op and our farmers. We try hard to make sure all our events are a really good use of farmer's time," Stacey says.
"There tends to be three reasons we hold events - they are either a community-type event which is all about the community and bringing people together, a Fonterra-led event which is centred around information sharing, or a social event aimed at enticing farmers off farm to connect with their peers and Fonterra representatives."
Stacey says events are an effective way for the Co-op to connect and communicate with large groups of farmers and support the one-on-one relationships that Farm Source field teams hold within their local communities.
"We have around 9,000 farmer shareholders, so it isn't realistic for field teams to personally talk to every single one individually. That's where the 'one to many' format of events works really well because it enables us to get important information out to a larger number of farmers at once," she says.
"Events are also great opportunities for farmers to speak directly to Fonterra staff. A lot of the events are attended by directors or senior members of Fonterra so it provides a chance for our farmers to speak to experts within the Co-op about what's happening and ask questions."
Stacey says that growing up on a farm in Helensville helped her develop a true appreciation for farmers and rural communities.
"I understand that farmers work really hard on farm all day long and sometimes they need a break and they just want to switch off for a while. So we do things like Pieday Fridays where they can just come into their local Farm Source store, grab a pie, have a chat with whoever is there," she says. "It is the same for the end-of-season dinners; these are simply a celebration of our farmers who have done a great job throughout the past season and are about to start a new one. The purpose is just to get together and enjoy time off farm."
When it comes to standout events, Stacey says the annual Fieldays at Hamilton's Mystery Creek is always a highlight while other favourites over the years include the 2021 My Connect Conference in Auckland which was attended by around 500 farmers, along with a fundraiser rugby match in Ashburton that same year. The match saw Fonterra staff and farmers compete against the parliamentary rugby team, with around $100,000 raised through the event donated to Rural Support Trust to assist those affected by flooding across the South Island.
"The whole Ashburton community came along - there were hundreds and hundreds of people there. We had heaps of giveaways, prizes and games for kids, and it was a hugely successful event."
Prior to joining Fonterra, Stacey worked for a health and safety company who facilitated training courses. Helping to organise around 30-40 courses a month, it was here Stacey was able to hone her skills in organisation and making things happen. She later went on to join Fonterra as a personal assistant to the Farm Source Group Director - a position she held for around a year before she was encouraged to apply for the Farmer Events Manager role.
"I would say it's a perfect example of Fonterra recognising talent and then trying to grow someone. They saw that I had potential and encouraged me to stretch myself," says Stacey who points out that she didn't get any special treatment through the recruitment process.
"I still had to interview for it and it was a really challenging interview process. It really is proof that Fonterra do look to develop its people and there are great career opportunities and progression within the Co-op."
For Stacey, her main motivation in the role is twofold: "Firstly it's my team - when we first came together as brand-new team three years ago, we hadn't worked together before, so I've found building my team and getting to where we are now so rewarding - we're in such a good place and are such a well-oiled machine. Secondly, I recognise how important it is to create positive connections between our farmers and Fonterra so I want to make sure that everything that we do in the event space is for a reason. We will never hold an event just for the sake of it - I really value farmers' time, so I want to make sure that the things we're doing for them are really valuable, either in terms of information and speakers, or simply having time off the farm and being able to take a break."
And her message to farmers?
"We are always striving to make events better and better, and would love to see those who haven't attended a Fonterra event before take the chance to come along to one and see what it's all about. We hope you'd find it's really worth your while."