Bob Thomson

Bob is a Farm Consultant specialising in sheep and beef. He has 45 years of experience working in extension, consultancy and project management. Having started out with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Hawkes Bay in 1975 he has also worked in Gisborne but spent most of his working life in Northland.

Bob has owned, managed or facilitated several high-profile projects including the NZ Beef Improvement Group (value-based payment), Project Green (voluntary standard for sustainable farming), the Landcorp Beef Cow for Profit program (3-year project in Northland, East Coast and Southland with >40,000 cows), the B+LNZ Waikato Environmental Focus Farm program and more recently the Dairy Beef Partnership Program.

Having had the privilege of working with many highly successful farmers, and supporting farmers through many adverse events including recessions, droughts and floods Bob has been able to accumulate some useful and practical knowledge. While quick to point out there are no silver bullets Bob has learnt from farmers and researchers how to develop a raft of strategies that can encourage, and support farmers develop and implement their business plans as well as navigate every-day challenges during both the good-times and the tough-times.

Having recently reviewed 45-years of extension and consultancy Bob claims Farm Systemisation as the best pathway to realising improved economic, environmental and social outcomes on sheep and beef farms.