Sean Bevan

“I applied first at Moutoa - I didn't get an interview at the time but I always kept an eye on Pāmu for different jobs popping up. It was at Pouarua, when Landcorp was managing those farms, that I got an interview with Roger Griffin. The BM there was Gareth Hughes. That was for a dairy assistant role.”

With his foot in the door and gaining valuable experience, Sean found that he was going in the right direction.

Pāmu’s strategic positioning as stewards of natural assets and our transparency as on organisation further incentivised Sean to muscle in. Sean has a strong grounding in the te ao Māori world view through his education at a kura and time spent on the marae.

“The Māori world view is very poetic and sees the interconnections of the world.”

Through pūrākau (stories and tales), he learned how the land, weather, animals, and people are interconnected.

“I always took a liking to Pāmu because I read their statement of corporate intent and I saw that kaitiakitanga was stated in there. It was something that stood out to me, as a company that cares about the environment and is looking to improve the industry as well.”

“Kaitiakitanga is a broad word but to me, it’s about looking after the land for future generations and finding the balance where we don’t impact the environment negatively.”

After spending a year as a dairy assistant, Sean already had eyes to move up the ladder and threw his hat in the ring for a manager’s job.

“I didn’t get the role but it showed my interest in the position and it allowed people within the company to start growing me and move towards my future goal as a manager.”

Thanks to Sean’s keen attitude and potential for development, his mentors helped him achieve his goals.

“I got a bit of coaching from Roger Griffin and Gareth Hughes. I wanted to stay with Pāmu, so I looked towards Pastoral as my next destination. I took an assistant production manager position with Bevan Samuels on Victory Dairy Unit and over the next three years, I worked my way towards a 2IC position with Bevan coaching me.”

“When becoming a 2ic and Manager, I realised that my decisions played a big part in how I affected the environment around me.”

Eventually, Sean’s mentor Gareth Hughes, moved over to Pastoral as a BM and hired Sean as a manager at Quarry Dairy Unit, but the doors kept on opening for Sean.

“Six months overseeing the transition to A2 for that farm and then Bevan Samuels, my previous manager, moved to Bounty and Gareth then hired me on Victory as the manager because I'd been the 2IC here.

“I knew the farm. It was a nice easy transition.”

Bristling with industry knowledge, Sean can demonstrate farming excellence to his people at Tahamata farm, a 310 hectare dairy farm owned by Ngāti Tukohere on the Horowhenua coast.

“Pāmu has taught me a lot, and I'm at a point now where I'm able to take those skills and pass them on to my iwi.”

“I was born in the Manawatū area, but my iwi, Ngāti Tukorehe, is in Kuku, so that's in between Levin and Ōtaki. They've got their own farm there and these days I give a bit of advice to their board in terms of what to do with the farm whenever they want me to come and have a look at what's going on.”