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4 February 2025
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Over the Farm Gate
Livestock

Staff Profile - Bill Moore

Being around cows since he was born, including nine years sharemilking in Waharoa, sets up new Waikato Dairy Agent to provide service and value.

Although Bill Moore is new as PGG Wrightson’s Waikato Dairy Agent, starting in the position in September last year, he’s spent a lifetime preparing for the role.

Bill grew up on a dairy farm just north of Dublin, Ireland.

“My father has devoted his life to developing an elite Holstein Friesian herd, and is one of Ireland’s leading breeders, so dairying has always been a major part of my life. I love being around cows. I’ve been around them since I was born,” he says.

Since June 2009 he’s been dairy farming in Waikato, including management, contract milking and 50-50 sharemilking.

“I’ve been through the dairy industry, from a farm labourer, manager, contract milker to sharemilker. My wife and I share milked 340 cows, for nine years in Waharoa, near Matamata. We didn’t spend much time off farm, and we pushed our cows for profit, averaging 165,000 kilograms of milk solids over the last seven years on 93 effective hectares. I understand the capacity of Waikato to grow grass, and the capacity of animals to do the production from that grass, feed and supplement.

“In New Zealand our dairy farming systems give us a massive opportunity to share knowledge and learn from each other. In other parts of the world farmers are much more isolated, and to be fair don’t share information as readily. What we have here in New Zealand enables people to succeed. It’s an easily accessible system. Being part of the progression that comes from that is a great thing. If you want to be a career share milker, it’s a fantastic prospect.”

So how did an Irishman come to be in New Zealand?

“I was selling cars for Mercedes Benz in Dublin. I sold a car an Irish farmer who had six farms in the South Island. He asked me what I really wanted to do. Although I was good at selling cars, I knew it was a stop gap until I was ready for full time farming. So, the decision to come to New Zealand was based on the opportunity here, a sense of adventure, the weather and topography, as well as the opportunity for growth. My wife and I spent the next 15 years around Matamata and Tokoroa. It was always my ambition to have my own cows and farm for myself, which is the opportunity that came my way,” says Bill.

Having built their sharemilking career, and realising their age made farm ownership a long stretch, Bill and wife Anke looked at their options.

“I’d been around elite dairy cows all my life. I have vast knowledge of dairy, which I want to share. I feel comfortable in my PGG Wrightson role, and yet challenged at the same time. When I’m calling on farmers, I can bring plenty of business experience as well as industry experience. I have no fear of selling or buying and feel confident bringing buyers and sellers together aiming for a win-win situation for all involved. Bottom line, I enjoy providing service and value. I know I can do that, while also enjoying the connections along the way.

That philosophy underlines how Bill guides his clients.

“Matching what people are looking for with what is available, finding something a bit better than what they have, and seeing that lift their whole game: being able to do that is really exciting,” he says.

Bill has another string to his bow, or more correctly a spoke to his wheel. In his early 20s, while working with Ireland’s national dairy company Glanbia, he was rising through the elite cycling ranks, good enough to ride full time for seven years, including earning selection for Ireland at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, albeit he missed out after crashing and injuring himself a few weeks prior to the Games.

His cycling career took him to South Africa, where Bill met Anke, also an international athlete: in her case triathlon, where her achievements include winning the Xterra World Championship in 2002. Unsurprisingly, the couple’s children, 12-year-old Mila and nine-year-old Mac, also love sport, and these days Bill splits his time outside work between sideline parent duties and running, usually a parkrun every Saturday morning to top up the 40 to 50 kilometres he runs each week.

“I love seeing people achieve their goals and keeping themselves moving forward. Sport and dairying are both great for that. Both require enormous discipline, dedication and tenacity. Both require looking at the long game, keeping yourself motivated and understanding you get further as a team than you can as an individual,” he says.

For any livestock queries, you can find and contact your local PGG Wrightson Livestock rep here.

If you're interested in any upcoming Dairy Herd Sales, find out more about what we offer here. 

 

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