How to deal with volatility best

Andrew Reid

Andrew Reid (right) has just taken up a new management role with Dairy NZ and caught up with the Bay of Plenty Times to talk about it.

Title: General manager - Extension, DairyNZ.

Age: 44.

Where were you born and raised?

Whakatane.

What is your fondest childhood memory?

Helping Dad milk the cows and feed the calves.

Explain your new role to us and what it will encompass?

I'm responsible for leading DairyNZ's team of regionally based consulting officers. This is the arm of the organisation that interacts with dairy farmers across the entire country every day, brokering knowledge and looking for opportunities to improve farm productivity and profitability, while promoting best practice and environmental responsibility.

What skills do you hope to bring to the position?

I have a deep empathy with the farming community and have had extensive experience in leading and building high performance teams and growing a solid team culture.

Tell me a little bit about your past experience in the agriculture industry?

Born and raised on a dairy farm and graduated with an agricultural science degree from Massey University. I worked initially as an agricultural consultant after university, and 20 years with Ballance Agri Nutrients in a variety of roles in field and leadership positions.

How do you think your previous role as general manager of sales with Ballance Agri-Nutrients will help your new position?

This role, like my previous role with Ballance, involves understanding and anticipating the needs of New Zealand farmers and developing a service in return that assists them achieve their goals while minimising any resulting footprint. This can't be achieved without an engaged team of great people, I've already got a great base to start from.

Why did you want to be part of the DairyNZ team?

DairyNZ plays a pivotal role in New Zealand dairy farming, with a great team of committed and passionate people and values that are well aligned to my own.

What will be first on your list of things to do?

Getting to know my team and the priorities in the regions in which they operate.

What are the biggest challenges facing the dairy industry at the moment?

Managing volatility. There's a lot of uncertainty with the milk price at the moment, so helping farmers understand and adopt tactics which suit their farming system to get through tight times is the immediate challenge for the industry.