Harper Life 2019 - Alumni Magazine

Having completed my sandwich year in New Zealand in 1984/85, the final year at Harper Adams was rewarding gaining my BSc Ag Tech degree! I was first employed by ADAS MAFF, starting as a trainee advisor in Totnes, Devon, in 1986. This was the best training a young person could imagine and having gained experience in all aspects of agriculture I was given East Devon as my consultancy area with dairy farmers. At some point in this time ADAS moved to charging for its time, which was difficult for those who had given many years of free advice. As a tight team, we as young and not so young consultants were bold and successful, even if management were concerned as to our militant attitude… A weekend barn dance in Oxford found me keen on a kiwi girl, Viv McClintock, working in London. In 1990 we were married in Cheviot, NZ, and retuned to Devon to set up home in Chudleigh. Hurdles In 1993, while visiting Viv’s relatives, I was offered a job in South Island as a dairy consultant for MAF. We moved there in 1994. It was traumatic and, with a crash in UK house prices, far from ideal. But when you are young and ambitious there are no hurdles too big! I faced deja vu as the NZ MAF decided to sell its advisory arm to commercial interests. The opportunity to be successful was good, but it was a fight to maintain independence from our parent company wanting us to fly their flag. Dairy farming was expanding rapidly, with sheep farms being converted for dairy cows. This changed the social dynamics of communities but was, in a sense, a financial bonanza for a province trapped in a conservative sheep and beef farming culture. Land prices exploded and a new wealth was being generated with immigrants into the province, myself included. I call myself a foreign investment. After eight years in a corporate company, the option to take redundancy with no restrictive trade limitations was welcomed and I started up my own business, Platfoot Consultancy. It now embraces different income streams including consultancy, heifer grazing and short term holiday accommodation. I have also gained a Diploma in Dispute Resolution, an area of work that offers so much opportunity. The dynamics of human behaviour make this incredibly satisfying work to be involved in. Viv and I have raised two great kids, Ben and Ellen, who are travelling and working overseas now. I am still resident in NZ and, whilst an Englishman at heart, the sport rivalry with England means I often have a split loyalty. After 25 years it is perhaps remarkable that regulations around environmental impacts have suddenly hit and the impacts are, to say the least, a huge negative in what has been such a positive story. Change is opportunity so being resilient is essential! Kiwi connections Late winter’s day looking across client’s farm. Notes from South Island Gordon Platfoot *