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Naughty Welsh schoolboy learns from NZ experience If Ceri Lewis not been expelled from school he may have never ended in charge of one of New Zealand’s largest sheep stations. From a non-farming family in Wales, his father sent him out to NZ for a year to work on a sheep station to knock a few edges off him and develop a work ethic. It worked as Ceri loved farming and on his return to Wales finished school and went on to compete a three-year National Diploma in Agriculture at Aberystwyth, an agricultural college. After graduating he returned to NZ and the Hawke’s Bay, worked on a farm, became farm manager and married the boss’s daughter. He and Tori later leased her father’s farm for six years. Ceri is no stranger to large organisations and team work. In his previous job he worked as lamb finishing manager for Brownrigg Agriculture in the Hawke’s Bay which employed 75 people. So what brought him south? Co-ordinating the buying and selling of hundreds of thousands of lambs was a demanding job, travelling 60,000km a year in a ute and on the phone from 6am to 10.30pm at night. He simply wanted to get back to farming. Good staff are crucial in most operations and so it is on Mt Linton. It requires skill to manage 26 staff and have them working well as a team. Human resources is an area Ceri regards as one of his strengths and he has always got on with people. “People are the key resource. Without quality people there is no way we can take this place to the next level.” Reporting to Ceri is Jim Ferris, the agriculture manager; Mark Bolger, stock manager; cattle manager, Ronald (Scotty) Watt and hill stock manager, Kevin O’Connor. Gareth Finlayson manages Glenellen while Chris and Jo Johns manage Mt Linton Farm. To Ceri attitude is an important attribute in a staff member. If they are keen and a team player it can be more important than experience. A new staff member has to be able to get on with the rest of the staff. To a certain extent Ceri leaves the employment of staff up to the managers as they will have to work with them. He holds a conference call with his managers (except Gareth and the Johns) every Sunday night for about 30-45 minutes. Because he is out on the farm regularly, he sees staff regularly, and makes a point of talking to the younger ones. Mt Linton is owned by the McGregor Family Trust and Masfen Farms Ltd, each with a 50% shareholding. The board consists of Peter Jackson (chairman), Alastair McGregor, Peter Masfen, Rolf Masfen and Angus Bradshaw. Ceri reports to the board monthly generally by conference call and then physically at the station three or four times a year. Mt Linton has a real British influence at present with “Scotty” Watt and Claire Scott both from Scotland. An agricultural degree graduate, Claire did her thesis on red meat eating traits. She worked in British supermarket chain Marks and Spencer’s Scottish beef programme and is now involved in the station’s genetic programme. Everybody pitches in on Mt Linton. Wives do lambing beats and many have their own dogs. They get out and help as often as they can. Even the children, including Ceri and Tori’s three can find work on the station. Ceri likes junior staff sent out with senior as good stockmanship is a must. Driving thousands of sheep through a gateway takes good dogs and skill. Ceri is a keen dog trialist and encourages shepherds to have a go. Not only does it hone their dog handling skills, but trialing allows them to network. They mix with other trialists, many of whom tend to be good farmers. Mt Linton hill stock manager Kevin O’Connor is a top dog trialist which will help draw young shepherds to the station. © 2007 Country-Wide Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved
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