The trifecta of success

Her day job is managing operations at Fonterra-owned farms in the upper North Island. With husband Cory, they own Jones Agri Fencing. And she chairs New Zealand Young Farmers, a 1700-strong organisation for those aged between 15-31 in the food and fibre sector.

"This trifecta makes me who I am: all three roles involve thinking strategically about the future," she told Dairy News.

"At Young Farmers, sitting in the boardroom, I'm thinking strategically about the future of our organisation. On the farms, it's about looking at operations and keeping things going in the right direction. The fencing business, it's always about how we can keep improving things for our clients."

Chloe is Fonterra's regional farm operations manager for upper North Island, overseeing farms located near milk plants factories at Whangarei, Hamilton and Cambridge. Milking is done on two farms while some are drystock farms. The farms exist for the purpose of taking by-product from the factories.

She works closely with farm managers and staff on how to optimise farm operations and get the most out of them, whilst understanding their purpose, for farmer shareholders. Chloe has been with Fonterra for six years after entering the Farm Source graduate programme. After a stint in Otago as an area manager, she moved to Tokoroa and too up this role one year ago.

The fencing business, a team of three, is run day-to-day by Cory, "because he understands quality workmanship, doing the practical operations, and running jobs. Because he knows about fencing and I don't".

"My strength is in looking after the books, numbers, compliance and administration," Chloe says.

Chloe's introduction to Young Farmers came while working on a farm nine years ago, a local farmer "dragged" her along to meet some people. The Piarere Young Farmers Club, near Tirau, was her first club. Chloe then went to Massey University and later Otago and kept her membership at local clubs and a regional committee level.

She admits that her opinion may be biased but points out that young farmers clubs are critically important for the food and fibre sector.

"You can go and join rugby and netball clubs but not everyone is into sport and also the club isn't only about those who enjoy farming," says Chloe.

"A rural teacher, a rural accountant who have moved into the middle of nowhere, are all in the same boat. Our clubs offer a chance to meet others in the community, get along with them and a reason to stay in the community.

"At the end of the day, our clubs make communities stronger and our food and fibre sector stronger."

Chloe reveals that she wanted to be an engineer when she grew up.

"Then I realised I was relief milking every weekend from the age of 13, enjoyed getting up under the stars, wasn't directly from a dairy farm, and that our agricultural industry was my passion.

"We have Young Farmers clubs across NZ  in rural and urban areas - including in Auckland and at Massey, Lincoln and Otago universities. They're connected by like-minded people associated with out food and fibres sector.

"Not everyone's journey starts with knowing where they are going, but if we can get our young people in NZ to realise where they can add value in our food and fibre sector, and be passionate about it, and get connected into a local community - we've got a lot better chance of keeping them long term."

Strategy Refresh

The Young Farmers' board has undertaken a strategy refresh. While the aim remains to connect and nurture people in the food and fibre sector, it's less about being everything to everyone.

"We are going to be really clear about what our value proposition is."

The NZ Young Farmers annual membership remains at $70. Membership was steady for a few years before a small decline this year.

Chloe puts this down to people going overseas post-Covid. She says NZYF continues to look long term and raise awareness of farming among the young population, with its FMG Young Farmer of the Year, Junior Young Farmers of the Year and Junior Young Farmer of the Year and AgriKids NZ contests.

She points out that parents get as competitive as the kids.

"Our visions for the contest is to elevate the food and fibre sector by enabling and promoting excellence. Having competitors that come along from these age groups to gain an understanding of what the sector is about - helps us move towards this and develops them along the way."

Chloe has another year left to run as chair of NZYF. As for the future, her passion is farming and governance roles and she's not rushing into anything. 

"Life's pretty hectic with the triftecta; for me right now it's about consolidating where I'm at and where I want to go.

"I'm interested in farming governance roles but I'm not rushing into anything. Right now, it's awesome to be young and in the governance space."