Service delivery a key focus for new AB manager
CRV Ambreed’s new National Artificial Breeding Manager has his sights firmly set on keeping the company’s farmer customers happy.
Craig Scott joins the CRV team from pregnancy testing company Ultrascan Limited, where he was the national franchise manager for two and a half years.
He says delivering “gold standard” service to farmer customers that meets their expectations must be a core focus of the CRV’s AB delivery business.
Scott believes CRV already has a great reputation for its service, understanding farmers’ businesses and fostering great relationships. He would like to build on that and find ways to do it even better.
“The CRV team is continually investing in new technologies and genetic innovations to help farmers breed healthy and efficient cows, with great temperaments and smaller environmental footprints,” he says.
“But if the AB technician team doesn’t do a good job of delivering these products and services to farmers, the value of all that hard work and investment won’t be fully realised. Getting cows in calf is our number one priority.”
Scott brings to CRV a solid background in operations management, customer support and relationship management. He has worked in the agricultural, sports and information technology sectors, including a 10-year stint as manager for Verusco Technologies, supplying video analysis software and statistics to rugby union teams.
Growing up on a Taumarunui sheep and beef block and with family dairying in the Waikato, Scott says farming has always been in his blood.
“I’ve always had a keen interest in our agricultural industry. Coming back into the farming sector seemed like the natural next step in my career.”
CRV Ambreed’s Operations Manager Andrew Medley says, “Craig will be a great addition to our team. He brings leadership and management experience with the necessary planning and organisational skills to add value to our AB service.
“Craig has been very vocal on how he plans to put our farmer customers first, which aligns well with CRV’s growth strategy, and the knowledge that delivering a quality service to those customers is of paramount importance.”
While Scott has a small full-time team of three during the off season, he looks after more than 200 AB technicians from across the country, who are contracted to CRV, during the mating season.
He will be heading out on the road next month to attend ‘pre-mating’ seminars, which CRV holds each year for its AB technician team. It’s not just practical skills the modern AB technician needs.
A key part of their role is usingCRV’s PortaBULL app, which links the mating to the cow to ensure herd records are kept up to date, with information able to be viewed on the spot.
CRV technicians are also proficient in using an inbreeding alert, which is provided to farmers who are also using the company’s SireMatch service.
SireMatch is a report specifically tailored to a farmer’s herd. It helps prevent inbreeding and genetic defects using the cow’s pedigree information, in addition to recommending the ideal sire to match with each cow. SireMatch integrates with the PortaBULL App, allowing immediate access by the AB technician to this critical data at the time of mating.
This year CRV technicians will have the added fun of looking out for five golden straws hidden inside farmers’ CRV’s artificial insemination units, worth $2000 each.
“Our AB technicians have the most one-on-one contact with our farmer customers,” he says. “My job is to make sure they have what they need to do their job well and deliver the very best service out in the field.”
Scott believes it is a challenging time to be involved in the industry.
“There was a period where farmers could quite happily run their farming businesses as they have always done,” he says. “Now, there is a new generation of farmers in the industry who recognise that they have to lead change themselves or it will be forced upon them.
“Good herd genetics plays a key role in running a productive, profitable and sustainable farming business. I am looking forward to working with my new team and helping farmers make that happen.”
