Gallagher Animal Management’s Darrell Jones set to take Kiwi ideas and tech to Asia and South America.
Educating farmers in Asia and South America about using innovation and technology to drive profitability is a priority for Gallagher Animal Management’s new general manager.
Darrell Jones has propelled himself from the green pastures of the Waikato to the international stage, tasked with growing business for Gallagher in New Zealand, Asia and South America.
Jones has been with Gallagher since 2001, starting out as territory manager for the Bay of Plenty and the Waikato.
Jones is a father of two and lives in the Waikato with his wife Charlie. He recently spent more than two weeks traveling around Chile, Paraguay, Brazil and Ecuador, and will spend about three months a year in the market.
He will also be visiting Asia early next year as he continues to search for opportunities for Gallagher to help farmers.
With more than 60 million cattle in South America alone, the potential for Gallagher’s electric fencing and weighing products is enormous. But Jones says the challenge is one of farmer education.
“There is great opportunity for Gallagher to help farmers in South America understand the benefits of using electric fencing for stock control and electronic weighing and tagging systems for their animals.
“They’re essentially just managing mobs of cattle, with most farmers not carrying out full animal recording. They are also buying cheaper, lower-quality products, which is costing them money in the long run.
“We want to demonstrate to them how they can use weighing technology and electronic tagging to understand average daily weight gains, target mating weights and how this information can help maximise their productivity and production – key drivers for profitability.”
But he said the challenge in South America is, “the sheer size of the region and getting around all Gallagher’s distributors and sellers to ensure they have the resource to effectively educate farmers.”
Gallagher is currently working with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise to identify business opportunities in South America. The company will hold its annual distributor conference in Costa Rica next year, using the opportunity to better educate resellers about its products.
