Passion. Reece Bonnor has it in bucketloads. His love of his cows, his drive for performance, his love of the land. It’s clear to see and explains why his career pathway has played out the way it has.
Reece is the Farm Manager on Aoraki Dairy Unit, one of seven organic farms at Moutoa in the Manawatū/Horowhenua Region. Reece describes his typical day by saying it “consists of early starts looking after our amazing cows, enriching our rewarding land, planning and supporting my team to supply a top quality certified organic product.” That description alone exudes passion.
It’s been 12 years since Reece first stepped onto a Pāmu dairy farm, starting out on Wingpoint in the Wairarapa. He tried the city life in Auckland for four years, but that wasn’t for him, so he returned to Wingpoint. He was soon transferred to Egmont Dairy Unit at Moutoa where he worked hard, resulting in starting as a Farm Assistant, quickly becoming 2IC, then promoted again to Farm Manager, all within two years.
“This was my first real taste of sole charge management, looking after 57ha and 200 cows. It taught me a wide range of skills that I still use to this day.”
“I was fortunate enough to be given an opportunity to amalgamate two 200 cow farms, Tasman and Tarawera, into the first 300 cow organic farm for Pāmu. At this time, I had absolutely no idea how to organic farm, but I soon realised it was the same as what I was doing...farming, just with less tools in the toolbox.”
Reece’s knowledge and experience of managing Tasman organics for three years led to him moving across to Aoraki to start the three-year conversion to fully organic, which is where he is still to this day.
“Some say I know everything there is about organics, but to be honest, I'm still learning just as much as they are.”
A love of the job
There are a few things that Reece loves about his job. The fact that every day is different, there’s always something new to do learn or plan, but also, being able to support his team to stay engaged and improve their skills to further their career. However, one of the best things is “caring for and working with my animals, some of my best friends have never said a word to me.”
When that alarm goes off at silly o’clock though, there’s got to be something that gets you out of bed. For Reece, it’s “my farm and my animals. Having the privilege to manage some prime Manawatū dirt, getting to collaborate with some fantastic people and achieve some fantastic results.”
It’s clear to see why Reece and his team achieve great results when he says that “farming excellence for me is being proactive not reactive, having attention to detail and refining plans.” When you’re open to change, staying ahead of the game and taking pride in what you do – the results will follow.
Be Bold
The other thing that leads to success is being bold, which is why this value means so much to Reece.
“It relates to me using my skills to help Pāmu become one of the biggest organic farmers in New Zealand, supplying the highest quality product for our customers. Everything I do in my day-to-day planning and execution on farm achieves this.”
Reece has always felt supported since he started with Pāmu all those years ago. “I've been given some great opportunities and made lifelong friends working with Pāmu. And over the coming five years, I want to continue to improve farm performance on Aoraki.”
Passion and pride – both are felt in such a strong way at Pāmu. Reece Bonnor brings this to his mahi daily, and because of that, he gets results. We are so grateful to have Reece, his passion and his pride delivering and representing Pāmu every day.
