Twenty-Nine Personal Touch 1973

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Personal Touch

Clem Trotter was passionate about Farmer’s Co-op and proud of the status it had attained in his home province of Taranaki. He left many legacies. He was devoted to his colleagues, business associates and the farming community. Many owed their livelihood to this man, and had placed their entire wealth in his hands to manage during some of the most difficult times in New Zealand’s early history when slumps and war challenged the most diligent farmer. It was in difficult circumstances that Clem Trotter was at his most potent best. Farmers’ Co-op did not have the capital to finance farmers but it had the ability to carry debt in times of depression and hardship by extending credit on vital purchases. Clem Trotter’s standing in the community enabled him to negotiate with banks and other lending institutions on behalf of clients. Many farmers became so reliant on his financial and management expertise that they retained his advice and services and out of this was born the Farmers’ Co-op Farm Supervision Department. In later years his son Ron said that ‘one significant record the company held was that it had never called up an account, and he considered his father’s work at this time was the most important contribution to the farmers of Taranaki’. Clem Trotter managed and supervised many properties himself until it became necessary to employ full-time staff.

The first employee in a dedicated farm supervisory role at Farmers’ Co-op was Mr A. L. Lyn Bremer from the well known Waverley family who championed the farmers’ co-operative movement in 1913. Robert Bremer and Frederick Gustavo Bremer were Farmers’ Co-operative Organisation Society provisional directors. Lyn Bremer’s position as farm supervisor commenced in 1935 and he soon became a well respected officer in the Society’s growing farm supervision operation. It had many benefits for shareholders, with the very significant advantage that it tied farmers to the Farmers’ Co-op to some degree, with practically all trading and financial matters handled exclusively by the Society. Many shareholders took the opportunity to use the service and an additional staff member, L. J. Len Newell, was employed some time during the outbreak of the Second World War. He stayed with the Society until 1948 when he resigned and was replaced by Ron Bremer, son of Lyn. This appointment though was purely a stop-gap measure and about 18 months later a T. F. Tom Molesworth was appointed to the position of head farm supervisor. Tom eventually became one of Farmers’ Co-op’s general managers. He was assisted by Lindsay Nicholls until 1955 when he resigned, requiring the Society to advertise throughout New Zealand to attract a suitable replacement.

Murray Findlater was on holiday in the South Island and saw an advertisement in the Otago Daily Times for a farm supervisor and rural manager. After forwarding an application to the employment agency handling the applications, he received a phone call from his old friend and colleague Tom Molesworth and this quite fortuitous introduction was instrumental in yet another

highly qualified man joining the ranks of the Society in July 1955. Murray James Findlater, known affectionately as ‘Fin’ would administer and supervise farm properties for absentee owners and estates from Waverley in the south to Mahoenui in the north. Murray and Tom Molesworth were linked by the fact that they were the first two rural field cadets of the Public Service Commission in 1941, a very successful training scheme established by Herbert Caselberg, then the supervising valuer of the Mortgage Corporation which merged with the State Advances Offices to form the State Advances Corporation, and former Hawera manager of the Farmers’ Co-op.

A distinguished background of farming experience in many New Zealand districts, including Martinborough, Waitotara, Eltham, Papatoetoe, Waimate South Canterbury and Oamaru, Murray Findlater attended Lincoln Agricultural College, Christchurch and also worked for the Department of Maori Affairs at Taumaranui, Tokaanu, Levin, Hawera, Hastings and Dannevirke. His work included inspection of land, supervision, valuations, leases and rentals and Maori Land Corp. work and he was involved with the West Coast Lease revision. He attained a Diploma of Valuation and Farm Management in 1949 and became a Registered Valuer in 1954 and a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Valuers in 1977. He was also a Member of the Taranaki Land Division Tribunal from 1975 to 1989. Other supervisors included T. E. Lees and M. G. Keene. Russell Bassett, with a farming background and broad commercial experience, dealt with much of the clerical work and general inquiries, including general clerical duties for the real estate operation known then as the Hawera Land Department.

The Farm Supervision Department was now endowed with three highly qualified and experienced men and would during the years ahead make a considerable contribution supporting shareholders. The general operating principle of the department was to offer the service for a fee commensurate with the degree of supervision required. In addition to general management, it also provided information relating to the application of fertilisers, maintenance of plant, purchase and disposal of stock, payment of accounts, wages and proceeds to sharemilkers, the supervision of managers and sharemilkers and the implementation of policy and development according to individual requirements and the finance available. The operation continued to be a worthwhile addition to the Society’s portfolio of shareholder-related support mechanisms. In its heyday the department was supervising in the vicinity of 40 farms. Farm supervisors became very closely associated with their clients and were treated as family. Management, advice, support and solution finding was all part of the service and this required a sympathetic yet well-informed response to the many problems that arose.

Without warning the Society suffered the unexpected loss of two highly valued employees in June 1973, when Murray Findlater, manager of the farm supervision department, and Bernie Mann, from the livestock division, resigned. In August of the same year Bill Marshall also handed in his resignation. Ron Trotter, a trusted friend, now chairman and chief executive of Wrightson NMA’s holding company, Challenge Corporation Ltd, approached the three men with a view to spearheading Wrightson NMA’s entry into the Taranaki province which had hitherto been serviced by the two main players Farmers’ Co-op and Newton King Ltd. Fortunately for Wrightson NMA it came at a time when disenchantment had manifested itself within the ranks of the Farmer’s Coop livestock and farm supervision divisions due to a variety of unsettling executive decisions in the early 1970s concerning working conditions and salaries. The sudden loss of three of its most experienced field staff was a cause of such concern amongst three directors that they invoked a clause under the Articles of the Association to requisition a meeting of directors to present a report expressing their point of view on the subject. They reported that ‘The Society was falling down in its activities and staff relationship.’

Opinions were freely expressed by those attending the meeting. An impression had been gained that recent salary increases that had been granted immediately after the June resignations ‘had

been dictated by the fact that Wrightson NMA had commenced operating in the stock field in Taranaki’.

This assertion was argued at length until Mr Ashton commented that, ‘the board was interested in the future not in the past’, and following a motion regarding salary scales being carried, the chairman requested that general manager L. B. Smith and the secretary withdraw from the meeting. It was then moved by Mr Ashton and seconded by Sir Harry Blyde, ‘That the board record a vote of confidence in the general manager.’ It was carried.

The move of Wrightson NMA into Taranaki by Ron Trotter, son of the late Clem Trotter, the Society’s most distinguished general manager and managing director in the Farmers’ Co-op’s history to date was controversial from a local perspective, particularly in the light of his father’s lifetime contribution and dedication to Farmers’ Co-op. It is therefore important that this narrative explains the circumstances that precipitated the Wrightson move to compete with the Taranaki giant.

Ronald Trotter was Challenge Corporation Ltd’s managing director from 1970 until 1981 and Wrightson NMA, part of the Challenge Group, had branches throughout New Zealand involved in a wide range of activities in addition to the stock and station business. However, there was no direct representation in Taranaki province. In 1961 NMA had merged with Levin & Co and by chance an outlet in Hawera, inherited from the former Levin & Co. on the corner of Princes and Grey Streets, provided Wrightson NMA an opportunity to establish a branch and place a tentative foot in the province. This expansion would provide Wrightson NMA with New Zealand-wide coverage. Wrightson NMA had no branches between Wanganui and Te Kuiti but did have significant numbers of clients on the fringe of these districts adjacent to and in the Taranaki province. The acquisition of three experienced operators, described by Sir Ron Trotter in later years as ‘the low-cost approach of employing some good FCOS staff who I knew’, and that the move into the Taranaki province was a commercial decision which would have happened sooner or later and a decision ‘my father would have been proud of’. Wrightson NMA commenced operations with Murray Findlater as branch manager, Bernie Mann as head of the livestock department and Bill Marshall placed in New Plymouth as stock manager and auctioneer. The operation, although not large at the start, would become highly successful.

The Farmers’ Co-op supervisory department continued under the management of Bruce Callaghan, followed by Don Kelly until June 1978, when Bill Laurence, who joined the stock department in December 1976, was seconded to the supervision department in 1978 as the solecharge farm supervisor. At this stage the farms under supervision numbered 13, but under Bill’s supervision the number steadily increased to 40 farms. The company’s financial difficulties in the 1980s were, however, to bring an end to what had been a highly successful adjunct to the support mechanisms introduced by former longtime managing director Clem Trotter. The executive of the day felt that they could not continue to entertain the existence of any part of the business that was not showing a profit and it closed on 1 January 1987, with the entire portfolio being taken over by Bill Laurence. The new company traded under the name of W. R. Laurence Farm Supervisor Services, who negotiated an arrangement to receive a commission on all livestock and merchandise he transacted with the company on behalf of supervision clients.

It was felt that the executive had not understood the complexities of running a stock and station business, not realising that the supervision department was intricately intertwined with ‘merchandise being related to livestock, to financing farmers who related to the personal touch’. The farm supervision department was now being seen as unprofitable in its own right, with the fee income being less than the cost of running the department. In fact the general concept behind the department’s existence had always been that the farm supervision department was not there to make a profit, but rather to provide a service for shareholders and farmers who found themselves in financial difficulties or were absentee owners. Modest fees were charged to recover costs, and

there were benefits from the sale of produce, wool, stock and fertilizers and ultimately the clearing sale and finally the sale of the property by the real estate department. Sadly, what had been a longestablished small but highly valued supporting cornerstone of the servicing infrastructure of the company became a victim of restructuring during a period of immense commercial upheaval. This will be the subject of future chapters.

Board meeting minutes relating to the period 1975 to 1979 appear to have been mislaid. The Farmers’ Co-op continued to operate throughout these years in a relatively unchallenged environment despite the recent introduction of a Wrightson NMA branch office to Taranaki, Farmers’ Co-op continued to trade alongside the old yet respected adversary Newton King Ltd., who provided the necessary stimulus as a fierce competitor yet friendly foe. During 1975, in conjunction with Newton King Ltd a new sales pavilion and yard improvements were completed at Inglewood, giving this centre up-to-date facilities for handling cattle. In addition the duo completed renovations to the Stratford yards and in 1976 negotiations were in progress for the purchase of an additional area of land for further extensions, which was eventually purchased in 1977. At the Hawera saleyards, Farmers’ Co-op completed alterations to comply with the requirements under the various Acts and Regulations relating to saleyards. Other notable additions and alterations were made to a variety of other trading outlets. At Inglewood a modern self-service grocery department was completed,with an extended area for the display of goods. In October 1975 a Home Appliance Centre separate from the main Departmental Store was opened in New Plymouth. Renovations were also completed at the Waverley saleyards selling ring in conjunction with Newton King Ltd in 1976. Improvements relating to the uploading facilities at the Wanganui woolstore were completed in 1977, along with the reorganisation of saleyard loading bays at Hawera and Douglas to speed up the receiving and loading of stock. The public was advised in a brief press editorial on 1 November 1977 that a new general manager had been appointed:

Tom F. Molesworth, general manager of The Farmers’ Co-operative Organisation Society of New Zealand Limited, 1977–85. Mr T. C. Tarrant, chairman of directors of The Farmers’ Cooperative Organisation of New Zealand Limited has announced that Mr T. F. Molesworth, deputy general manager, had been appointed general manager of The Farmers’ Co-op as from 1 November on the retirement of Mr L. B. Smith.

Mr Molesworth commenced as a farm supervisor over 25 years ago and brings to the position of general manager, a sound knowledge of Taranaki farming practice. He was appointed district manager, central district in 1960 and in 1972 became district manager, New Plymouth.

Mr Molesworth has had a special interest in land valuation and livestock and is at present the president of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.

Tom F. Molesworth, although without any substantial corporate management experience other than that he had attained as an employee of the Society, did have exceptional ‘people skills’ and the appointment to the position of general manager was well received by the staff at a time when morale was low. His work in the Farm Supervision Department, with later promotions to branch manager at Stratford and New Plymouth and finally deputy general manager of the Society, had provided him with

a sound knowledge of the business. His farming background, apart from graduating from Lincoln College was enhanced by serving many years as a farm appraiser for the State Advances Corporation at Invercargill and Gisborne. He was also a keen golfer and in his younger years had played rugby for Southland and, as Murray Findlater recalls, ‘was very proud to have played against the British Isles rugby team in his younger years’.

His predecessor, Lyall B. Smith, the former general manager, sadly passed away at Taranaki Base Hospital, New Plymouth on Monday 26 December 1977, aged 64 years only two months after his retirement. During his 15 years as general manager he had had many highs and lows following the euphoria that eventually settled after the opening of the departmental store at New Plymouth.

Another familiar family name disappeared from the directors’ register too. Unlike other personalities whose stories appear in this history, Arthur Dickie was never an employee of the company, although his family had been associated with Farmers’ Co-op almost continuously from 1914. His association with Farmers’ Co-op was threefold, as a shareholder, a customer and a director of the company. The contribution of the Dickie family, had been substantial. Arthur followed his brother Eric onto the board as a director. In earlier years an uncle, Charlie, had had the added distinction of being elected chairman of directors. A longtime farming family in the Waverley district, Arthur farmed in partnership with three of his brothers, Eric, Morris and John. John, who trained in the Airforce in the Second World War, lost his life in an air accident in Auckland. Trading as ‘Dickie Brothers’, Arthur, Eric and Morris continued farming in partnership for more than 30 years. Arthur retired from farming in 1973 and from the board of directors in 1978.

Times were changing in many ways, with equal pay introduced in 1978 and the Society’s premises were continually being renovated. New Plymouth Service Station was upgraded to conform to the well known Atlantic design and adjoining premises at Inglewood were purchased to allow for future expansion. In 1979 the Motor Division now had an agency for Morris and Honda motor vehicles in some districts. The Society was also successful in obtaining the agency for the new Rover range. At Manaia a new store was purchased and upgraded to foodmarket requirements, with the old Manaia building repaired and converted to farm merchandise retailing.