Rob Clayton Named CEO of Gallagher Animal Management
Gallagher has appointed Rob Clayton as Chief Executive of its global Animal Management business to lead the next stage of growth across key markets.
For more than 50 years, the Gallagher team has made the annual pilgrimage to Mystery Creek for Fieldays. So, when Covid upset plans last year, Darrell Jones reckons it was like missing Christmas.
Darrell is Gallagher animal management’s general manager for NZ, Latin America and Asia and has been with the company for more than 20 years.
With a fair share of Fieldays under his belt, Darrel understands how important the event is for connecting with farmers and strengthening Gallagher’s Kiwi roots.
“You can’t put a price on having conversations in person with farmers,” he says. “There is something special about shaking a farmer’s hand, looking them in the eye and genuinely listening to the challenges they’re facing on farm. That’s where it all starts for us and what gets our team out of bed in the morning.
“We enjoy learning about farmers’ pain points and then sharing our knowledge and expertise to help them be more productive and efficient behind the farm gate.
“At the same time, Fieldays gives us a unique opportunity to showcase everyday solutions, as well as present new products and digital innovations to our customers.
“We absolutely loved reconnecting with farmers at the regional field days this year and we can’t wait to get to Mystery Creek. It’s a pretty special event on the New Zealand farming calendar and after a challenging year, we shouldn’t take it for granted.”
Just like Fieldays, Gallagher is home grown in New Zealand. That ‘Kiwi-ness’ saw the company launch a NZ-Made campaign last year.
“As part of our campaign, we worked with a number of inspiring farmers who are using our products on farm and appreciate the value quality NZ-made products can add to their business.
“These farmers embody the very essence of what it means to be a New Zealand farmer. They are passionate about the industry and are committed to buying quality homegrown products they know will get the job done. “It has been a privilege to partner with them and share their stories with others.
“We are looking forward to hosting them on our site at Fieldays.”
Darrell says New Zealand’s pastoral farmers have built an international reputation as some of the most productive, profitable and innovative in the world. But that world is coming under pressure like never before.
Whether it’s animal welfare, the efficient and sustainable use of natural resources, maintaining a clean green image or doing more with less – the spotlight is on every Kiwi farmer.
“Our farmers need support from innovative partners, products and technology to tackle today’s farming challenges and maintain their licence to operate.
“Gallagher has valuable relationships with key industry partners to ensure we keep ourselves up to date on the challenges and opportunities our farmer customers are facing.
“Our promise to them is that we will continue to invest in research and development to help them meet their challenges head on.”
New Zealand dairy farmers are set to be the first in the world to receive access to a new digital physical milk pricing tool that enables them to fix the price for their physical milk.
State farmer Pāmu is opening its farm gates this summer in an effort to give the rural sector the opportunity to see how large-scale, multi-system farming is delivering productivity and profitability across New Zealand.
A five-year study has found that the cost of reducing emissions without technology may be significant and unsustainable for Northland dairy farmers.
DairyNZ says Waikato farmers need certainty on Plan Change 1, but they say that certainty must be matched with practical, workable rules and a clear transition that doesn't get ahead of the new resource management system currently under review.
While the Government has moved quickly to make commercial hauliers' lot easier during the current fuel crisis, they appear to be stuck in the creep box when it comes to the agricultural industry.
Waikato farmers have been told that the Government’s new planning system legislation and the region’s Plan Change 1 (PC1) “won’t mesh together very well”.

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