The FMNZ Leveled Up Podcast

FMNZ Leveled Up Ep6: Lyn Webster

Have you heard of 'Pig Tits and Parsley Sauce' [https://www.facebook.com/www.pigtitsandparsleysauce.co.nz/]?  What about that lady in the news who, for 2018, set herself a budget of $1000 for groceries?! Lyn Webster has been dairy farming on her own for 15 years throughout provincial New Zealand. From an urban background in banking, admin and retail management, she went into farming at 31. Lyn went to live on a dairy farm in Stratford, Taranaki where her then partner was employed. My goal is to keep on milking cows until I am an old old lady and then hopefully have enough money to buy a little house near the sea.” After a year the couple brought 170 cows and went 50/50 sharemilking. Unfortunately the relationship ended and Lyn moved out with 2 young girls, an old dog and a Honda Ascot car, which she still drives, although she claims its the worst thing ever! Circumstances saw her managing a 130 cow dairy farm when the herd owner broke his leg, and made the great decision to hire a female single parent with limited experience! A wet February saw her beat the farm record, giving her confidence to chase a variable order job. In her second season Lyn won the Taranaki Variable Order Sharemilker of the year. From there, together with a business partner, Lyn went 50/50 sharemilking on the next door farm. The business partnership ended and she took her half of the herd and leased more cows moving slowly up the ranks with two other 50/50 jobs. Lyn has now spent five seasons leasing a challenging 220 cow farm in Ahipara, Northland. Alongside a busy farming career, Lyn is an AB technician and completed a diploma in agriculture along the way. She writes a fortnightly column for The Waikato Times mainly about farming called 'Pig Tits and Parsley Sauce', which is also the name of a book Lyn had published in 2013 about sustainable grocery shopping. Lyn also maintains a website that highlights sustainable living ideas, discussions and products/books. - www.pigtitsandparsleysauce.co.nz [http://www.pigtitsandparsleysauce.co.nz/].  “I love rearing calves and working with milking cows. I try to encourage natural animal health practices, and have not had the vet in for three years. I love the basics of farming, like working my dogs Miller and Flea, and riding around on the farm bike. My goal is to keep on milking cows until I am an old old lady and then hopefully have enough money to buy a little house near the sea.”

FMNZ Leveled Up Ep5: Dot Kettle, Pure Peony

Introducing Dot Kettle from Pure Peony [https://purepeony.com/]! Dot and her partner Georgia have a 100 acres farm where they grow Peonies in Wakefield near Nelson. We talk:  * - Work/life balance * - SheEO* [https://sheeo.world/venture-region/new-zealand/?year_filter=2017] * - The science behind peony root * - Organics and flowers * - Eczema * - New products * - Working from home * - Starting a business * - As well as sharing their story leading to transparency and trust in their brand. Apologies for a few scratchy connectivity moments (the joys of rural broadband!) *SheEO is a global community of women radically transforming how we finance, support, and celebrate female innovators To shop the Pure Peony range, head to their website -  https://purepeony.com/ [https://purepeony.com/]

FMNZ Leveled Up; Grow BOMA NZ Special - Melissa Clark-Reynolds

The last interview I had the privilege of conducting at the Grow 2019 Agri-summit was with the fascinating, Melissa Clark-Reynolds.  We talked farming business models and whether farmers are farming the land or the product. We covered farm diversification and how that can bring women back into the farming business. Also about how urban women ARE actually interested in how we farm - we feed their families after all! We also talked carbon, family/children and whether there is such a thing as 'balance' - Melissa's theory on balance is one to hear! I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion and think you will too. Melissa Clark-Reynolds, ONZM, is the first independent director of Beef + Lamb New Zealand—the farmer-owned, industry organisation representing New Zealand's sheep and beef farmers. She is best known as a digital strategist, foresight practitioner, and professional director, and has 25 years’ experience as an entrepreneur and in the business startup community. She has been CEO of a number of technology companies. She is a Governor of Radio NZ, sits on the Boards of Kiwi Insurance and Jasmax, and chairs the LINZ Risk & Audit Committee. Melissa was a Member of MPI’s Primary Growth Partnership Investment Advisory Panel from 2014 to 2016. She has attended the Te Hono Bootcamp [https://www.tehono.co.nz/] at Stanford University, trained as a Foresight Practitioner with The Institute For The Future in Palo Alto, and trained with Clayton Christiansen in his approach to Disruptive Innovation through Harvard (HBX). She keeps bees and tweets as @HoneyBeeGeek [https://twitter.com/HoneyBeeGeek?lang=en].

FMNZ Leveled Up; Grow BOMA NZ Special - Rachel Taulelei + Kerensa Johnston

Kerensa Johnston and Rachel Taulelei are two incredible Maori women leading the way in agribusiness.  I had a fantastic chat not only about what they are involved with now, but WHY they do it. We talk about the values and objectives of Kono and Wakatū and how the two businesses work together. How they balance life, family and career, how they integrate family into a corporate working environment and what their tips are for you. It's also fantastic to hear how Rachel and Kerensa's working life reflects and inspires their daughters! I feel it would do them, and you a disservice to not include their full bio's below: Kerensa is the Chief Executive of Wakatū Incorporation [https://www.wakatu.org/], which has approximately 4,000 shareholders who descend from the original Māori land owners of the Nelson, Tasman and Golden Bay Regions – Te Tau Ihu.  Kerensa is also the Chair of Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga [http://www.maramatanga.co.nz/], the Māori Centre of Research Excellence. A graduate of Victoria University, Kerensa is a lawyer who has worked as a solicitor in the private sector, a legal academic at the Faculty of Law, University of Auckland, where she specialised in Māori legal development, public law and land law and as a Barrister.  She also has a Masters in Laws in International Law (First Class Honours) from the University of Auckland and is a member of the International Association of Corporate Counsel, Corporate Lawyers’ New Zealand and Te Hunga Roia.  Kerensa is of Ngāti Tama, Ngāruahine and Ngāti Whāwhakia descent.   Rachel (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Rarua, Ngāti Koata) has been CEO of Kono NZ [https://www.kono.co.nz/], a Māori-owned, top 100 New Zealand food and beverage company employing over 400 staff and exporting to over 25 countries. Kono brands include Tohu, Kono and Aronui wines, Tutū cider, Kono mussels, Kiwa oysters and Annies fruit bars. Kono also grows apples, pears, kiwifruit and hops, and is involved in sustainable seafood through its business Yellow Brick Road [https://www.yellowbkroad.com/]—founded by Rachel. Rachel was formerly NZ Trade Commissioner in Los Angeles. She is a fierce advocate of New Zealand’s primary industry and has spent 20 years promoting Aotearoa as a world-class producer of food and beverages. Her directorships include Moana NZ, Wellington Regional Stadium Trust, New Zealand Wine Growers, Aquaculture New Zealand, and the Young Enterprise Trust.  Rachel has received the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award, and is a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to food and hospitality. She has been a Prime Minister’s Business Scholar and in 2018 was named Māori Woman Business Leader at the prestigious University of Auckland Aotearoa Māori Business Leaders Awards. In 2018 Rachel was selected to be on the Prime Minister’s Business Advisory Council.

FMNZ Leveled Up Ep4: Hayley Rhind, White Chalk

Hayley Rhind is the designer and director of White Chalk [https://www.whitechalk.co.nz/] which she started with her sister in-law Ginny by accident. Hayley thought she was destined to be the boy on their Marlborough sheep and beef farm until a few clothes she designed and got Ginny to make while living in Vietnam turned into a million dollar business and some very steep learning curves. With no experience in fashion Hayley now works along side Ginny, brother Nathan, a team of 10 and is very proudly New Zealand made.  Hayley and I talked about how the business was started, why they decided to move production from Vietnam to New Zealand, what it's like working with family and their upcoming plans with launching two new labels this spring!!