We’re lucky to live in such a beautiful country – for Jimmy Rogers, he takes it one step further describing it as ‘paradise’. In fact, the thing that gets Jimmy out of bed in the morning is just that, “Working in paradise! Some days it’s hard to believe I get paid to do this job!”.
Jimmy is the Farm Manager at Parikānapa Station on the East Coast of the North Island, having been there since 2020. Like all Farm Managers, his days are rammed! There’s the usual paperwork to contend with, as well as ensuring contractors are set for the day, and a lot of time on farm helping out the team with whatever needs to be done – fencing, moving stock, rebuilding tracks, you name it.
Working for Pāmu came about through an opportunity to head to the Te Anau Basin and work on Mararoa Station back in 2010. Jimmy then moved on to work in the private sector and take his shepherding career further. But when an opportunity to be Stock Manager at Panekiri Station came up, he couldn’t help but leap at it.
That time a Cyclone hit…
It’s fair to say that Jimmy has faced some challenges at Parikānapa – most notably, Cyclone Gabrielle. Jimmy was right in the thick of it, affected personally yet leading the team through a harrowing experience. The damage was insurmountable – so many slips, damaged tracks, the team cut off from one another. The situation was overwhelming.
They knew the road to recovery would be long and tough, but at the same time, there was hope. The outpouring of support from Pāmu, the local community, and strangers from as far away as Auckland, kept the team going. Giving up was never an option!
When asked what Jimmy’s best moment has been while at Pāmu, saying the Cyclone doesn’t quite seem right, but it was the response that came at such a time that will stick with Jimmy forever.
“It was awesome to be part of an organisation that really cared about its people and the support that was shown to us all in less-than-ideal circumstances. The Pāmu values really came through in times of need and it makes me feel proud to be part of the Pāmu family.”
And that’s why Jimmy loves his job so much! The three things he loves the most about managing Parikānapa are:
- the support Pāmu shows for trying new ideas
- that not one day is the same, every day presents new challenges
- and seeing staff on horses daily, watching them grow into awesome young shepherds.
As for farming excellence, it could mean many different things to Jimmy given the multitude of challenges he’s had to face and the different approaches he could’ve taken. But after all that’s been thrown at them, “We are still managing to get good stock performance despite the challenges. Increased hogget and ewe weights are our farming excellence for me so far this year.”
Turning a challenge into an opportunity
When faced with the devastation that Jimmy and the team had, they could’ve freaked out – it was a mammoth task. But they were bold, not afraid to try new farming practices and be open-minded when making decisions.
Jimmy has ambitions of managing an even bigger Pāmu farm sometime in the future, or potentially other roles if the opportunity was to present itself. In the meantime, Jimmy continues to make massive strides on his slice of paradise on the East Coast. It’s characters like Jimmy that make Pāmu a special place to work – his dedication and commitment to the land and his team are second to none.
