Sheppard Agriculture - Sheppard Agriculture 12 Ward Street

Greg Sheppard Farm Management Consultant, Director View Profile

Greg lives in Richmond with his wife Alison and two teenage children. Like all of his clients, Greg enjoys the outdoors and since moving to the Nelson area has taken up Mountain Biking and on many weekends can be found sweeting it out on the grind up the hills or getting his adrenaline fix on the single track back downhill trails.

Greg Completed his degree in Agricultural Science from Massey University in 1993 and commenced work as a farm consultant in Whanganui in 1994 for Agriculture New Zealand. In 1996 Greg made a change to managing a 300 cow dairy farm just south of Dannevirke allowing him to gain invaluable practical experience in farming. Realising that he wanted to work with people, Greg rejoined Agriculture New Zealand based in Dannevirke.

In 2002 Greg established Sheppard Agriculture built on the foundation of a strong clientele in the Tararua district. In 2010 Greg moved to Nelson to provide his children with a greater range of opportunities and to enjoy the many outdoor activities possible in the Tasman region.

Since moving to Richmond, Greg has expanded his clientele from North Canterbury to the Lower North Island. This includes intensive to extensive sheep and beef farmers and facilitation roles for Beef+Lamb NZ and RMPP's Action Network Groups. 

Greg has a strong interest in Information Management and has long been an advocate of Benchmarking financial and production performance levels. Greg developed the Accounts Analysis tool "Profit Check" in the early 2000's and more recently has developed the "Farm Insite" system.

About Garth Nielsen-Vold:

Garth has worked in the agriculture industry for most of his working life.  With his early years working on farms in New Zealand, Australia and the USA, then going on to graduate from Lincoln University (the better University).  Garth has a real passion for Agriculture and its challenges, but most importantly the opportunities that it brings.  Garth's rural professional roles as Ruminant Nutrition, Business Manager (Farm IQ) and ongoing Farm Management consultancy has taken him over most pasts of the country and he has been part of literally hundreds of farming businesses at all levels.  Most of Garth's career has been in Sheep and Beef, but also dabbling in both Dairy and Deer, with a real interest in the later.

Garth loves to know what makes a farm and farmers tick, and how this can be transferred into achieving the goals of the farming business.  Garth manages to get himself invloved in planty of work in and around EID's on farm.  He has a strong interest in converting EID's from regulatory cost through to opportunity by better understanding individual flocks/mobs on farm, right through to slaughter.  Through working in the consulting field, Garth has also grown interest in the marketing of New Zealand's agricultural products and sees this as an area where significant gains can be made.  Garth has an attitude that looks at restricitons/regulations in New Zealand agriculuture as a challenge to farm within, however also an opportunity to further differentiate ourselves in the market and therefor value adding.  As an industry he believes we do this extemely poorly.

Garth really enjoys being part of conversations that challenge the status quo of farm businesses as they are today.  Farm businesses are most often highly captital intence, with so many factors outside the direct control of the farm owner and/or manager.  He sees so often that there is very little ongoing information to minimise this risk and opportunity of such a scale.  In many cases, we need to lift farming businesses into more a larger or valued business mindset through better understanding of the business value, risks and opportunites.  

About Ellie Cranswick:

Ellie commenced working part time for Sheppard Agriculture in August 2019. Ellie along with her husband Tom and their four young children recently moved to the Ward area where they lease a 600ha sheep and beef property.  Ellie's key passions are  to connect rural people, assist in growth and development of farmers and their businesses.  She enjoys supporting younger people into the industry, and contributing towards their journey in Agriculture.

Prior to moving to New Zealand, Ellie completed her Bachelor of Applied Science in Agriculture at Harper Adams University (UK). Then moving to NZ in 2011, she worked as a Farm Consultant in the Wairarapa district and so brings great technical and organisational support to Sheppard Agriculture. Ellie's primary role with Sheppard Agriculture at present is in providing administrative, organisational and client support to the senior consultants; she has strong facilitation skills and is invloved in the BLNZ Action Network groups and B+LNZ Farming for Profit Programmes.