From the boardroom to the cow shed

Baynes is CRV’s new national sales manager. A former advertising executive, she cut her teeth at global marketing agency Saatchi & Saatchi, but just over a decade ago hung up her high heels to retrain as a large animal vet. For the past six years she has been working for Anexa Vets in Waikato.

Now she can combine her sales and marketing savvy with her love of cows and the deep understanding of dairy farming she has gained as a vet.

While she counts Spark, Barclays Bank, British Telecom and Diageo Highland Whisky as former advertising clients, Baynes says working in dairy genetics is one of the most exciting futures, with so much of the industry’s success resting on herd improvement.

“I want to help breed better herds for all the reasons we hear about: The quality of our milk, the quality of our beef and the environment. I see it as a great opportunity to bring my skill sets together to help New Zealand farmers realise the potential from genetic gains,” says Baynes.

It was while working as a vet in Waikato, she learned that every dairy season follows the same pattern, and she started looking for a way to use her wide range of skills for the benefit of the industry.

“I came across the advert for the sales and marketing role at CRV. I realised I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to combine all my skills, working in a sales and marketing role with farmers who I have come to know well and still having contact with cows,” she says.

Bayne’s experience as a vet opened her eyes to the complicated nature of farming as a business and she realised just how much depth there is to what farmers do.

“When I told my friends I was retraining as a vet they all thought I was mad. They had only seen me suited and booted.

“I’m originally from the fine dairying capital of Wellington. Farms to me had always been somewhere you visit and feed animals from rice crispy bags! I had no idea how dairy farms worked, but I thought it was an interesting world.”

The more time she spent learning the more she realised she loved the physical and intellectual side of farming.

She now lives in Matamata with her husband Daniel, three dogs, cats and birds she acquired during her time as a vet. She says she can’t imagine living anywhere but rural New Zealand.

“New Zealand farmers have to be smart because their businesses are running on a knife edge the whole time,” says Baynes.

“So many things are out of their control, from the weather to the payout. Managing all that requires serious skills and expertise. When I became a vet, I knew I would be working with some smart people that would teach me things.”

As well as the wealth of learning she enjoyed as a vet, Baynes also discovered how much she loves cows.

“Cows are some of the best animals you can meet. They’re lovely and gentle, and they have a great sense of humour that really appeals to me.”

She says CRV’s job is about more than just getting cows in calf.

“What we do here at CRV is not only for the benefit of farmers, but also consumers, the animals themselves and the environment.

"By breeding healthier, more efficient cows we all win - the farmers, the wider community, and New Zealand."