Business Rural North Summer 2021

| 53 difference to sheep and beef farmers “We pride ourselves on delivering what we quote — quality of livestock, reliability and accuracy of what we’re marketing.” RURAL SERVICES » Fergus Rural Ross Mitchell, Daryl Fergus, Rob Fergus, Tim Petro, Luke Bates and Deano Brenssell. find a buyer and truck them out. Because Gisborne is pretty isolated, a large portion of purchasers won’t travel to view livestock. You’re talking a fair old chunk of money and we’re trusted to do it accurately. We pride ourselves on delivering what we quote — quality of livestock, reliability and ac- curacy of what we’re marketing.” Seven years on and Fergus Rural has developed a reputation for being straight up. Ninety percent of the stock that leaves the region is sold sight unseen. Rob says technology and the ability to email and txt photos of stock to potential clients helps, but through that trusted reputation regular farmers and agents now call year-on-year looking for stock, knowing quality stock will be delivered. In 2015 and just two years old, Fergus Rural was a finalist in the Westpac Farm, Forestry and Food Excellence awards, providing the company with positive affirmation of its progress within the rural community. Then in 2018 the Westpac Tairawhiti Business Excellence Awards was entered, winning a special award for Business growth. In recent times Fergus Rural has rebranded to include ‘Agribusi- ness’ under its name, reflecting the environmental solutions offered by the company following the employment of Tim Petro, and allowing further growth into other rural industry services. “We’d been having conversations with our clients about environmental uncertainty and saw an opportu- nity to engage Tim who visits farms to advise on environmental plans, riparian planting, council reg- ulations and what qualifies for carbon.” Reflecting on the company’s growth and development over the last eight years Rob says putting the customer at the centre of operations and keeping things simple along with the team’s diversity are key ingredients. Over the last few years Deano Brenssell and Luke Bates have joined Fergus Rural, complementing the team’s skill sets. Rounding the team off is Admin- istration Manager Jen Telfer who ensures a smooth operation on a daily basis. “We have a great team environment and culture. We take our jobs seriously but not ourselves,” says Rob. Phone 0800 668 342 / 24 Hours FOR ALL YOUR RURAL TRANSPORT REQUIREMENTS We provide Livestock, General/Bulk, Logging and Ground Spreading services Call us on 06 868 7200 Cartage of livestock, fertilizer, general farming supplies, citrus, apples, and kiwifruit.