Shearing a vision
Geoff Ross of 42 Below vodka fame has gone back to his farming roots, but this time there is classical music in the shearing shed. By Olivia Caldwell.
An entrepreneur, a millionaire and a marketing genius, Geoff Ross wants to prove to farmers you can teach an old dog new tricks.
The 55-year-old walked back into farming after nearly 30 years in the marketing industry, where he made his name through vodka brand 42 Below.
A lot has changed in farming in three decades, and he admits he needs to up his skills in certain areas.
‘‘It is fair to say I can’t run a team of dogs. I can drive a tractor, but there is a bunch of stuff I haven’t learnt to do yet.
‘‘I wouldn’t mind getting a dog. I might have to start with a dog that teaches me, I think.’’
Prepared to learn himself, he believes traditional farmers can change some of their habits, practices and thinking, in order to help the rural sector appeal to a changing world market – one which now demands sustainable, carbon-friendly and caring animal practices from farmers.
Ross has had a strange couple of weeks. He and wife Justine received a mountain of criticism over his sheep farming practices shown on Country Calendar three weeks ago.
Practices in the spotlight were the use of mattresses at the bottom of the woolshed chute, classical music for the shearing gang and white-painted boards to show up any blood.
The milder messages on Facebook and Twitter said Ross wasn’t a farmer; the hot takes said ‘‘PC bulls..t’’, ‘‘woke’’, ‘‘rubbish’’ and ‘‘crapola’’. And then there were the nasty ones.
‘‘Yes, we care, I think you can’t help but be affected by it,’’ says Ross of the vitriol. ‘‘You just focus on the positive, and it has been far bigger in volume than the negative.’’
At his Lake Hawea Station woolshed, Ross comes across as a regular and humble farmer. But when we walk into the whiteboard interior, now written into farming folklore, it’s clear that this isn’t a regular farm.
He’d like others to join him in becoming carbon-zero in order to skyrocket New Zealand’s already strong rural brand globally.
‘‘What is a farmer? It is such a broad skillset. Yes, you are stockman, at times you’re a vet, at times you’re an accountant, at times you’re a fencer, a builder.
‘‘And now you’ve got to be an environmentalist, and having a marketing skillset helps as well. If you can tell your story overseas you are going to get more for your food, fibre, meat and wool.’’
Ross grew up on a dairy farm in Paparimu, where the Waikato and Auckland borders meet. He describes his father, John, as an environmentalist who was fencing off native trees and waterways decades before it was required by law.
His son’s dream was to end up farming and he completed a bachelor of commerce and agriculture at Lincoln University. But a field trip to ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi changed everything, and he moved into marketing.
Then came 42 Below, started out of a garage. It was successful because of good timing, he says. ‘‘Sometimes you get a lucky bounce in life.’’
But he’s clear that, while proud of 42 Below – which he and Justine sold to liquor giant Bacardi in 2006 – ‘‘we don’t really want our legacy to be vodka’’.
‘‘A better legacy is a piece of land that is better for the environment and helping climate change and not harming it, and ideally start to get better returns for New Zealand farmers.’’
The couple have been married for 30 years, and, while Ross has always backed himself, it is clear to see why he’s got the confidence to do so – it was Justine’s call to play classical music for the shearers.
Undoubtedly the rewards system for shearers based on the wellbeing of the sheep slows down the process. But there is a marketing method to it, in convincing fashion brands shearing is not cruel, Ross says.
This is New Zealand’s first certified carbon-neutral farm. It is making a profit, and going global. Ross acknowledges that what they are doing cannot be done on every farm, but ‘‘farms can actually be a solution to climate change’’.
‘‘We want to tell a lot of sheep and beef farmers that they can also be carbon-positive. Rather than them being viewed as villains in climate change, they can be heroes in climate change.
‘‘I reckon make a start, trial. The worst thing you can do is do nothing and that’s the same in any business.’’
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3. What is the capital of Italy? Oslo; Tokyo; Rome; or Athens.
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Justin; Jason; Jeremy; or Jordan.
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6. Which sport did Richie McCaw play for New Zealand? Rugby league; cricket; basketball; or rugby union.
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Bovines; canines; felines; or porcupines.
8. A male sheep is called a . . . Stag; boar; bull; or ram.
9. If you were at the Super Bowl, which sport would you be watching?
American football; football (soccer); or Australian rules football.
10. If a car usually takes petrol, is it OK to use diesel instead? Yes or no.