Head of Merchandise Agronomy & Horticulture, Darryl Stretton shares his passion for agriculture and talks about the challenges his team have overcome in the last few years. 

What did you want to do career-wise when you left school?

Apart from wanting to be a professional cricketer or golfer, a role in the agriculture industry was always a dream aspiration from as early as I can remember. I left school and studied agriculture science in pursuit of this vision.

Tell us about your career to date.

My career to-date has been centred around the agriculture industry across various value chains and roles. I started with Plant & Food Research straight out of university in the Hawkes Bay. I then worked in the fertiliser industry across the North Island for 3 years whilst completing my MBA, before joining Bayer in Australia. I started in Sydney and finished up with them in Melbourne 5 years later.

I met a girl at the Melbourne Cup and chased her to Christchurch! On returning to NZ I joined Farmlands in a senior category management capacity. I was in this role for 5 years before joining Kiwicare as Group Commercial GM for a few years. As good as that role was, I missed having the impact I have always craved for in the Ag' sector. I came back to Farmlands 3 years ago and am now Head of Merch' leading our buying teams across our core input categories.

What led you to Farmlands? 

The national footprint and sheer magnitude of the business and the impact the Group has across NZ ag' is what appeals to me.

How have you grown in your time with us at Farmlands? 

In numerous different ways. We have close to 1500 people in the business. Learning how to get the best out of people whilst winning friends and influencing people has been an area I have mostly been leaning into in recent times.

What have been your key achievements / what are you most proud of at Farmlands? 

The collective efforts of my team over the last couple years have been immense. We have completed nationwide range reviews, consolidated our buying strategies, and have successfully implemented these changes into central procurement away from a previous decentralised model.

We have navigated our way out of the covid supply chain storm and rebounded stronger than ever. The cherry on the top has been the introduction of our new home brand Agstar which is a private label across agchem and plant nutrition. The value that this model is creating is serving us and our customers very well.

What would your advice be for someone who's interested in a career in your area at Farmlands? 

Get the right cross functional skills. Position yourself accordingly. Create the right networks. The right qualification to begin with is advantageous. Always remain insightfully aware. Get clear on your unique point of difference and the value you can subsequently add to the business that may set you apart.

Interested in learning more about our Merchandising team?

Check out our Merchandise page for more details.

Interested in working with Darryl in the Merchandising Team?

Connect with us on our careers site and check out our current Vacancies, or get in touch via careers@farmlands.co.nz.