How novice dairy consultants help farmers design improved farming systems

Abstract

Developing a new farm consultant from the start of their career through to an expert takes considerable time, money and resources. To make the process more efficient DairyNZ has developed a training program for new consultants that includes formal training and the whole farm assessment process. The development of new farm consultants could also be assisted by understanding the knowledge and skills held by expert and novice consultants. The knowledge and skills held by an expert consultant is reported by Gray, Kemp, Reid, and Westbrooke (2014), this study reports the findings for a novice consultant. The objective of both this and the study of the expert or experienced consultant was to investigate the problem solving processes they used in farm management consultancy. A single case-study approach was used, where the novice consultant (NC) was interviewed three times, using a semi-structured protocol. The data was analysed using a qualitative data analysis technique. Once analysed the results were compared to both the literature and the experienced consultant (EC) reported by Gray et al. (2014). The NC reported that good interpersonal skills are important in the consultancy process. The NC built positive social capital, or a positive reputation within the consultancy firm for whom he worked and with farmers and agribusiness professionals. This positive social capital was critical for the NC to build a client base. The NC, like the EC preferred to undertake the role of coach or facilitator during a consultancy visit, however he could undertake other roles as necessary. The NC emphasised the importance of build rapport with a farmer, both to retain them as a client, and to gain information, often sensitive, important for problem identification and solution. The NC utilised a range of different approaches to build rapport with a client. The level of rapport that the NC has built with the client will influence the follow-up of the plan and future visits with the client. With regards to the physical consultancy process, the NC uses the initial phone contact with the farmer to indicate the general issue to be discussed on farm. Unless the issue is financial, he does minimal pre-visit preparation. The NC prefers to start the farm inspection as soon as possible in the visit, as this is where he finds clients are most comfortable. Like the EC, the NC gained information during the visit via observation, questioning and reading documents. Validation of this information and looking for issues ‘not mentioned’ was considered critical for the consultant to build a correct picture of the farming situation. In agreement with the literature and the EC, the NC also used benchmarking, classification and comparison although some of these processes were intuitive and subconscious and thus difficult for the NC to articulate. In contrast, the EC had greater self-awareness of the processes he used. The focus of a farmer’s conversation, their ability to provide data and information along with benchmarking assisted the NC to identify problem areas. There was also an emphasis on separating different levels of on farm issues, the symptoms from the underlying causes, and issues noted initially by the farmer compared to the ‘real’ issue that they wanted to address. Scenario analysis, ‘working back from an end point’ and ‘drilling down to an issue’ were used to both identify the problem and develop solutions. The NC included the farmer in solution development to include their, the problem owners, key knowledge of the issue and business. Follow-up, reports and future visits, were based on the farmers situation and preferences. The NC stated that there has been an increased desire amongst farmers for written farm reports. In terms of training farm consultants, prospective consultants need to be enthusiastic and able to make clients feel optimistic and have good interpersonal skills. An understanding of soft skills, such as rapport building and decision making processes could also assist prospective farm consultants. In agreement with the literature, building contextual knowledge of the area in which they wish to become an expert is critical. This comprises developing knowledge of a range of farming systems in a range of environments and in a range of situations. It was suggested that this could continue post-University prior to starting as a farm consultant. The knowledge and skills needed to become a successful farm consultant can be built by observation, practice and evaluation, as also suggested in the literature. This could be done in a gradual way, starting with small and relatively simple work and moving to working with more complex issues and systems. In this way it allows the new farm consultant to build the all-important positive reputation within a consultancy firm, with agribusiness professionals and farmers. This reputation is critical for the new consultant in terms of developing a client base.