5 minutes with Tanya

Tanya Houghton started with Farmlands as Chief Executive Officer in late August. The Farmlander caught up with Tanya to reflect on her first few weeks.

You joined Farmlands a few weeks earlier than expected, when Alert Level 4 was announced. What were the first few weeks spent doing?

Alert Level 4 certainly caught me by surprise. I was just getting ready to spend a few weeks moving into our new home in Christchurch when lockdown hit. With moving off the cards in L4, we made the call for me to start early and support the team supporting our shareholders and customers. The immediate priority was to ensure our customers and our people were aware of our trading protocols under Alert Level 4. I appreciate that many of you would have been receiving information from every business you traded with! It had been a while since there had been a lockdown in many parts of the country, so after the initial reminders we now have the ability to be more seamless in changing between Alert Levels. The key message is no matter the Alert Level, you are able to access your supplies from us. The other focus was on connecting with the Farmlands team and having regular interactions, in particular with our northernmost branches, who have endured stricter measures for longer. Regular video calls (where the Farmlands team grew accustomed to the ‘big blue door’ of my motel room) helped keep everyone updated.

You’ve now had more than a month in the role. Where do you see the biggest opportunities for Farmlands?

The biggest opportunity for Farmlands is to solidify who we are. There’s an old saying – ‘get your own house in order before looking outside’. When our co-operative is delivering our core business well – rural services and supplies – our ambitions in other areas will become possible. We need to be better at doing what we were created to do – providing an outstanding customer experience, delivering on being a trusted advisor, bringing true competition to the

We need to be better at doing what we were created to do – providing an outstanding customer experience, delivering on being a trusted advisor, bringing true competition to the market.”

market. There’s plenty of ways we can do that – first we need to look within our own four walls, identify the areas for improvement and action them.

Spring is always a busy time for the primary sector – what is Farmlands doing to make it less hectic for shareholders and customers?

We’ve focused on the basics – what you need and when you need it. I’m incredibly proud of the way our team responded during lockdown to handle orders coming in from all directions – online, via phone and email. While lowering of Alert Levels means we will move back to face to face in branch visits, we are mindful that these alternative channels that played an important role during L4 and L3 will become increasingly active options. Providing you with the ability to interact with us in the ways that suit you best has been a priority for us and we’ve been focused on making sure our email communication is directly suited to your needs and wants, so you don’t end up with unnecessary stuff in your inbox. All good primary sector relationships are built on trust. As farmers, growers, contractors and primary sector experts, you know what you need for each season. As the rural supplies experts, we are here to provide those products, alongside advice, guidance and support. When it comes to innovation in products and practice, our role is to provide you with the information you need to make informed decisions.

Will there be opportunities to get out and meet shareholders in the coming months?

I hope so! My first few months in the role were scheduled to be full of travel to meet and speak with people from all touchpoints of our co-operative. While (at the time of writing) I do not know when that is going to be, I’m optimistic that at some stage soon I’ll be able to get up farm driveways,

| Tanya and husband Richard on the Tora Coastal Walk, Wairarapa.

I’m interested in learning more from our shareholders and customers about what trusted partner status looks like to them.”

talk to shareholders at events and hear directly from you on what needs to happen for us to deliver improved levels of customer experience.

What can shareholders and customers expect from Farmlands in the year ahead?

Shareholders and customers can expect two things. The first is a focus on fundamentals. By doing the basics better, we have an opportunity to build on the strong relationships that exist throughout our co-operative. Sharper timing and simpler interactions will make it easier for you to do business with us. This includes a core focus on having products available for you. This is becoming increasingly challenging, given the global situation with COVID-19 and supply chain issues and our team has worked hard to order ahead of time wherever possible to try and avoid product shortages on key inputs. The second thing that will become apparent is Farmlands being more disruptive in the market by identifying where we can create pressure that results in better options for our customers. I mentioned earlier “trusted partner status”. It’s interesting that a lot of shareholder feedback I have received since starting has come from shareholders who choose not to put all of their inputs through Farmlands. Our job is to make Farmlands your first choice. I’m interested in learning more from our shareholders and customers about what trusted partner status looks like to them. I can be emailed directly at ceo@farmlands.co.nz – I look forward to hearing your thoughts.