Sarah-Jane McCall

Southland Area Manager
027 438 6314
[email protected]

Sarah-Jane (SJ) is the Nutritech Area Manager for Southland. Like all Nutritech people, she has a deep knowledge of animal nutrition and how to structure resources to boost animal performance. Even so, SJ insists knowledge isn’t her greatest asset when it comes to helping farmers.

“In my job, knowing animal nutrition is crucial, but it’s not enough. You need relationships and connection. If you have the right personality and you genuinely care about people, customers become friends. That’s the base you need to work together effectively.”

A key part of SJ’s work is preparation. Before she goes onsite, she reads the detailed notes that outline the history and objectives of a specific farmer.

“I prep thoroughly because my job is solving a farmer’s problems. That includes the issues that haven’t landed yet but are on the horizon. It’s not good enough to wait for farmers to ring me when bad things occur. I need to ring them and say, ‘Hey, this problem is coming up. Let’s chat about making sure it doesn’t happen.’

SJ acknowledges there have been times when she doesn’t have all the answers. That’s when she leans on the expertise of the large Nutritech team.

“Whenever there’s a knowledge gap, I’ll get one of the nutritionists to join me on farm to provide technical help. I love solving puzzles, so when something’s not quite working, I’ll peel off all the layers of the onion to see if it’s something I’ve missed, or something the farmer has done.

“In the end, all I care about is getting the right outcome for my farmer.”

In rural communities, relationships matter, and trust is the number one currency. SJ believes that trust comes when farmers know you’re not on farm simply to sell them products.

“There have been times when I have assessed a situation and said, ‘You don’t need our product like I thought you did. If we shuffle a few things around, we can cover your needs with what you already have.’ Farmers like it when you’re honest. If you treat them well and protect their business, they tell their friends, ‘You need to talk to SJ’. That’s how rural communities work.”

In a past life, SJ was a figure skater, good enough to represent New Zealand. These days, she prefers snowboarding on the slopes of Wanaka, or running with her dogs down in Gore.

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