The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Genetic expert loves being back on Otago farm

Otago Daily Times
16 Dec, 2018 08:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Jo Scott enjoys spending time on the family farm on the outskirts of Oamaru. Photo: Supplied

Jo Scott enjoys spending time on the family farm on the outskirts of Oamaru. Photo: Supplied

Farming is in Jo Scott's genes. She is the fifth-generation member of the Scott family to be involved in farming and is combining that with her day job, specialising in animal genetics.

Ms Scott (27) is technical services manager for the New Zealand arm of global animal health company Zoetis.

Although she works out of the Dunedin office, she lives in North Otago, where both sides of her family have farmed for many years.

After leaving Waitaki Girls' High School, Ms Scott headed to Massey University to earn a science degree, with a double major in agriculture and animal science.

She returned home and worked on a dairy farm for six months, and then headed overseas for six months, before coming home again and doing some hospitality work.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Nearly six years ago, she joined Zoetis, working initially in Dunedin then the North Island and finally back to Otago two years ago.

The team implemented DNA technology on-farm, working mostly with stud breeders but with increasing numbers of commercial farmers.

It was all about driving production, but also ultimately about the consumer and what they wanted to eat, and that all started with the breeding, she said. The job was "extremely fun" and it was the people who made it. She was pleased she could help them in their businesses.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Farmers — I absolutely love them," she said.

She described them as the most impressive people she knew. Sometimes, they were running million-dollar businesses with no internet.

Stud breeders she worked with were not just farmers, they were agronomists, geneticists, businesspeople, sales and marketing managers, and also dealt with human resources.

"They have such big roles; I love being part of that business."

Discover more

Te Kiteroa Lodge's farming past helping rural women

28 Nov 10:45 PM

Four tips to achieve better soil

04 Dec 10:30 PM

Dairy farm 'grazing coach' keen to help others

04 Dec 08:00 PM

Southland's Aparima catchment improves

05 Dec 12:00 AM

Ms Scott's particular passion was for the "next generation coming through", saying they would have to be more strategic and specific about how they ran their businesses, but they were sparking on to the technology available.

Three years ago, Ms Scott did the Kellogg rural leadership course. Initially, she wanted something different from genetics, which was what she did every day.

She toyed with the idea of doing something on millennials and intergenerational farming, and women in agriculture.

But she ended up concentrating on genetics, or more specifically how commercial farmers valued genetics, and it gave her a greater understanding of the psychology of farming.

More of a global outlook was needed and farmers also needed to be thinking about who consumed their products.

"We've got to get out of that commodity production," she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Growing up, Ms Scott said she toyed with a few different ideas but she always came back to her roots — the land.

She was passionate about the agricultural sector and also about women in agriculture, and encouraging young people into the sector.

And it was not just about being a farmer — friends she made at university while studying were in very diverse jobs in the sector, whether working for Fonterra, as rural bankers or fertiliser reps.

She was keen to take a group of young people to the US, hopefully next year. She went there when she first joined Zoetis and now she wanted to expose others to what was going on in the world. The Scott family was a recipient of a Century Farm award in 2012, having been on the land at Ardgowan, on the outskirts of Oamaru, since the 19th century.

Being fifth-generation was an example of resilience. Throughout those five generations, there had been a lot of resilience, she said.

A new artificial insemination programme had just been started at Seaview and Ms Scott enjoyed "throwing in some ideas".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

She felt very lucky to have such an amazing support network both within her family and within her industry.

One thing she loved about her job was working with industry professionals who all had similar goals.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

Premium
Analysis

‘Ardern lives in exile’: Jones attacks gas ban, calls for apology in fiery hearing

19 Jun 05:00 AM
The Country

The Country: Hello Brendan, goodbye Rowena

19 Jun 01:47 AM
The Country

Huinga dairy farmer celebrated at national sustainability awards

18 Jun 10:37 PM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Premium
‘Ardern lives in exile’: Jones attacks gas ban, calls for apology in fiery hearing

‘Ardern lives in exile’: Jones attacks gas ban, calls for apology in fiery hearing

19 Jun 05:00 AM

The Resources Minister came to the select committee sporting a Make NZ Great Again hat.

The Country: Hello Brendan, goodbye Rowena

The Country: Hello Brendan, goodbye Rowena

19 Jun 01:47 AM
Huinga dairy farmer celebrated at national sustainability awards

Huinga dairy farmer celebrated at national sustainability awards

18 Jun 10:37 PM
'Technology has come so far': Drones could be coming to farms and beaches near you

'Technology has come so far': Drones could be coming to farms and beaches near you

18 Jun 06:00 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP