CSB - Anne Douglas, Group Director of Farm Source

Catching up with our friends out of Fonterra. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
From the cricket field to the cow shed.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
It's the Country Sport Breakfast with Brian Kelly on Gold Sport.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
It's time on the show to catch up with the
team at Fontira and today we're joined by Anne Douglas,
group director of farm Source and good morning and welcome
to the show.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Oh thanks Brian, thanks for having me along today.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Absolute pleasure. Now I understand there's something quite special going
on this week. Can you tell us a little bit
more please?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yeah, sure, can Brian. Look, this week we're actually celebrating
ten years here at farm Source, which we're pretty excited about.
For those people out there that maybe don't fully understand
what farm Source is. It is the farmer facing part
of the cooperative, the part of the business that is
out here supporting our farmers every day, offering them tools
and services and the support that they need. And it

(00:47):
was really created to focus on the relationships that we
have with our farmers and how we could really bring
to life the full value of a co op for
them in a different way.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Can you tell me a little bit more maybe about
these relationships that you mentioned.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Yeah, Look, the way we interact with our farmers is
just really important. You're obviously our owners. We are a
farmer owned cooperative and they are very much that the
kind of heart and soul of why we exist and
what we are here to do. So celebrations like this
are really just another way for us to get close
and connected with our farmers. We know they've obviously got
a choice about who they supply milk to here in

(01:26):
New Zealand, and we don't take their support for granted.
So what we're focused on is delivering our farmers the
strongest farmer offering. It's a really important part of our
Fonterra strategy and relationships is really key in that.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
And how's the team at farm Source and Fonterra is
celebrating this tenth anniversary.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yeah, well, look, you might be aware that we host
a thing called Pie Day Fridays and our retail stores
around the country, and so this week we've turned that
into eight Day Friday. Doesn't quite roll off the tongue
the same way as Pie Day Friday, but it's a
great opportunity for our farmers to come and store our
catch up, enjoy a little bit of cake and we've
added a few specials too. Any of our farmers this

(02:05):
week who are shopping in store going to the drawer
to win one of our sixty five Webber barbecues and
also some of our Summer three sixty clothing packs. Clearly,
also our employees a really big part of this celebration.
We've got an amazing team here at Farm Source and
so we're hosting cake days as well in our offices
right across the country.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Cake Day Friday. Quite like that though nothing beats a
bit of cake? Is there?

Speaker 2 (02:27):
Who doesn't love cake?

Speaker 1 (02:28):
Come on ten years great milestone. What was farm Sauce
and before it became Farm Sauce, Yes.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
So the retail part of our business was known as
RD one. When farm Source was created, it was about
bringing together all of the parts of our cooperative that
here to support our farmers and to bring the full
benefit of from Terra to life for them. I actually
joined the co op in the very year that Farm
Source was created and was there in Methan in twenty
fourteen when we opened our first store. So ten years

(02:56):
ONLD we've now got sixty five stores around the country
and we're offering exclusives, discounts and support for our farmers
and those are on the products and services that they
really need to run their farms. But we are a
lot more than stores. We've got an eight hundred team
that provide twenty four seven support on the phone for
our farmers. We've got local teams across the country and
that includes the likes of sustainable dairy advisors, technical sales reps,

(03:20):
milk quality managers, you can, digital specialists, a whole raft
of people that are playing their part to support our farmers.
So right now we're really focused on how do we
support our farmers run efficient farming businesses, businesses that are productive,
profitable and sustainable for generations to come.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
Fantastic. Will you do a great job. So Happy cake
Day Friday, Happy tenth anniversary and great to catch up.
Enjoy the cake.

Speaker 2 (03:45):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (03:46):
We will and Douglas, Group director at of farm Source,
buy a little cake here. Be quite nice.