Steve Wilkinson loves seeing a plan come together. As Lower North Island regional manager for PGG Wrightson Livestock, covering a broad and diverse part of the country, taking in the large hill country units around Taihape, the variety of Wairarapa and Dannevirke, lush productive land in Manawatu, and up to the dairy stronghold of Taranaki, Steve sees quite a few plans coming together on a regular basis among the 36 livestock representatives he oversees in his team.

“On sale day, if we are on our game, it looks like it’s all going seamlessly. Behind the scenes though, there’s a huge amount of preparation and background work, and everyone will be going like a duck on the water, with all the action below the surface. You can only relax because everything has already been taken care of, then the day can go ahead successfully,” he says.

Growing up on his parents’ Southern Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farm, Steve never doubted that his future was in agriculture. After some OE, he started work as a PGG Wrightson livestock agent in Masterton in 2004, stepping up to become Wairarapa regional livestock manager in 2017, and into his present role in March 2021.

As Lower North Island regional manager, Steve takes immense pride in seeing the members of his team develop.

“They start off as fresh faced young guys, keen though with no real idea about the job. Through their own hard work, and the support of the rest of the team, watching those guys mature and grow into the role is so satisfying. A successful livestock representative is a trusted advisor for their customers, growing a bond that makes them an integral part of each individual farming business they serve. Seeing a young guy flourish into that role, and using skills and knowledge that add serious value to their clients’ bottom line, makes me really proud.”

Having been down that path himself and remaining in the Wairarapa patch where most of his own direct clients still farm, Steve appreciates catching up with the farmers he went through that process with.

“It’s always a pleasure to see those guys, and reconnect with them, to see how they are getting on, and not just in a farming sense: in this role you develop close relationships with people, seeing how they and their families are doing, how their businesses are faring.

“When you know a particular farmer well enough, their farming operation and what they are looking to achieve, often the decision making between the farmer and the agent is easy. Once you look at all the options, and talk it through between you, you can usually see what is the best fit for a desired outcome.

“Seeing how that goes in a day to day farming situation, even though it’s not something I do every day anymore, I really enjoy that.”

He also enjoys the challenges that come with the diversity of the area and the operations within it.

“Every day something will come up that you weren’t necessarily expecting. Working out how to deal with that is a rewarding part of the regional manager role. It is tough out there at the moment, with a lot of land in this region selling into forestry; with farmers facing increasingly complicated compliance challenges; and trying to juggle rising costs against diminishing returns. Our agents come face to face with those issues every day from their clients, and those interactions filter through to our business. However, in the medium and long term, farming is an excellent proposition, and good operators will continue to find plenty of opportunities,” says Steve.

Outside work, Steve is mainly focused on family: wife Jacqui works as an accountant in Masterton and the couple live on a six hectare lifestyle property just outside the town with sons ten year old Hugo and eight year old Toby, plus a few steers and a mob of trading lambs.