Meet Alastair! Sharpes has a very long history in Alastair’s family – his dad bought Sharpes from John Sharpe in 1937!

Farming was the only career Alastair wanted to pursue and on leaving school in 1962 he worked in sheep and beef farming prior to going to Massey University. A few seasons of shearing and farm management preceded Alastair and Nicky’s move to the Wairarapa onto the farm where the Sharpes Stockfeed business was built from very simple beginnings in 1974. The first feed from the Carterton mill was produced in 1975 and the mill operation in Lower Hutt finally closed in the early 80s. Alastair bought his brother’s share in 2001 and nervously went it alone.

Alastair and Nicky are still involved with Sharpes Farm Feeds but have since moved off the family farm, and son Sam with his wife Sara are managing the business.

I’m delighted to see how Sharpes has evolved over the years – always embracing the latest technologies along the way. In the 50s and 60s we moved from manual to automation. From individual sacks to bulk feed. It was quite revolutionary at the time.

I’m proud of my son Sam and his wife Sara for their capabilities in continuing the Sharpes legacy. Like my father, their willingness to embrace new technology and processes continues to transform the way we do business – from our app to the way we use the latest technologies in our mill!

Ultimately, the most important part of our business are the relationships we’ve built with our customers over the years. That’s really the heart of Sharpes and why we do what we do

Sam is involved in the overall management of Sharpes Stockfeed, along with his father Alastair. Sam previously worked for Baker & Associates as a sheep and beef consultant for 15 years, but from 2015 became fulltime at Sharpes Stockfeed and the Orsborn family farming operation.   

Sam, along with his wife Sara and their three children (William, Lucy and Olivia), lives on-site next to the Sharpes Stockfeed factory, on the family farm. 

Sara (nee Coop) is from a farming family on the Mahia Peninsula in Hawke’s Bay, and married Alastair and Nicky Orsborn’s son Sam in 2008. Sara has previously been in Marketing roles for a number of meat companies, and since 2008 became involved in the family business Sharpes Stockfeed, on the Marketing and Sales side.

Lisa is the money lady! She’s our office administrator who manages the accounts side of the business and looks after dispatch – if you want your order or a bill paid, talk nicely to Lisa. 

Lisa has been with us since January 2018, and loves her commute to work as she lives just down the road! She enjoys the close knit Sharpes team environment, and talking with farmers – you may have chatted to her on the phone when you ring the Sharpes office.

sharpes@stockfeed.co.nz
Phone: 06 379 7445

Bevin is our Dispatch Manager. If you’ve ever received an order from Sharpes, Bevin has probably put it together for you. Bevin has been with us 12 years (yes our staff have a wonderfully long history with us!) and is trained in most areas at Sharpes.

“I love the variation within my job! From putting orders together to driving our delivery truck across the Wairarapa. It’s impressive seeing the growth at Sharpes in recent years – pretty cool having our new production mill and the larger warehouses here.”

Ian is our ‘Head Chef’, taking the raw ingredients, working his magic and turning it into delicious feed for your animals.

Described by his workmates as one of a kind, a man of few words, Ian is our long-serving mill manager. Nothing is ever a problem for Ian, who is responsible for the day-to-day running of the mill, and has been with Sharpes for nearly 20 years.

When he’s not busy keeping the mill ticking, Ian enjoys spending time at his bach in South Wairarapa.

Lucy, aged 13, loves to help Sally and Lisa in the office after school, and in the school holidays. 

Neil has been with us for just over three years. He can often been seen at lambing time with his two apprentices, Lucy and Olivia, in tow as he passes on his knowledge to the next generation of Sharpes farmers. 

Neil has our farm looking amazing and enjoys growing out great stock, with the help of Sharpes stock feed, of course – he has his own private supply on tap!

Kevin is an original part of the Sharpes furniture. He has been a loyal member of our crew for just over 30 years. Yes you read that right, 30 years! He can turn his hand to most jobs in the mill, and can often be seen out and about delivering our feed to the local farms.

Outside of work he enjoys spending time with his two grandchildren.

New addition to the team is Stacey, who takes on the role of Mill Assistant. New to the region, Stacey comes from a diverse background having experience in the horse racing industry, dairy farming, zoo keeping and offender management. When not at work, Stacey enjoys being a committee member at Manawatu Harness Racing Club, and on her bucket list is to visit every tramping hut in the North Island! She is well on her way to that target.

Alun has worked both in South Africa and New Zealand as a commercial animal nutritionist across all areas of the livestock industry. His passion is to drive productivity gains in a cost effective manner through the formulation of custom designed feeding strategies that meet the objective of the customer. Alun is able to provide practical advice and solutions to customers looking to optimise animal performance and health. Alun has been working in New Zealand since 2002.