A West Country lad from England, Simon grew up in the midst of a farming environment. After university he headed down under to learn more about why New Zealand was the benchmark of world agriculture.
‘I arrived in January 2003 and have worked for Altum since July 2005. I started as a field consultant in Southland as I really enjoyed farming in the area, although it gets a touch colder than back in the UK.
'I spend my spare time cycling and have to thank work for allowing me to go overseas with representative cycling teams in the past few years.’
Raised on an orchard in Hawke’s Bay, Rowan was well educated even before studying forestry science at Canterbury University.
He joined Elders after working in labour contracting to horticulture, viticulture and agriculture in Canterbury, Marlborough and Otago, switching to Altum in early 2010.
'I am keen on hunting and fishing in the Southern Alps and I hope to be able to travel the world and hunt. It’s great getting out and meeting a lot of different people in various farming systems and being able to customise a complete nutrient programme specific for them.'
Originally from Chile, Constanza (Connie) grew up spending holidays at her grandfather’s beef farm. After studying agriculture in Chile she has continued with a Master’s programme working with grasses.
'New Zealand is well known in Chile for first-class farming practices, so I decided to seek new career challenges in New Zealand. When I first moved here I worked on dairy farms in Waikato and Canterbury.'
Connie started with the Altum team as a sales cadet, which gave her the opportunity to learn even more about the business and New Zealand farming systems. She was then promoted to the role of sales consultant. In her free time, Connie favours running and mountaineering.
Originally from Tauranga, Victoria is passionate about the practical side of agriculture, and gained plenty of experience of this while studying for a degree in agriculture and valuation at Massey University.
Her on-farm work experience included spending time on dairy farms, working on sheep and beef farms, and even working for a silage and baleage contractor. Victoria is heavily involved with the New Zealand Young Farmers Association and enjoys attending their events.
Outside of work Victoria likes to play overly competitive social netball and ride other people’s horses when the chance arises.


