AWN Building client relationships on the foundations of trust and transparency is a driving force for Tamara Pabst as she travels across the Victorian and Riverina countryside meeting with clients from many different areas.
The skills she has accumulated and the passion she has for her role as a sheep and wool specialist have seen her nominated by AWN for the National Council of Wool Selling Brokers of Australia’s Annual Wool Broker Award.
The award encourages newer members of the industry and promotes excellence in all aspects of wool broking while promoting broking and the industry as a prospective career for young people. It is people like Tamara, who has reached the final round of the competition, who help raise the profile of, and increase the understanding of, the important role of wool brokers.
Tamara fondly recalls spending a lot of time growing up at her grandparents’ farm near Mansfield in Victoria as well as the neighbour’s sheep property where she would check sheep at lambing time as well as help with lamb marking and work in the shearing shed.
“I always wanted to be based in the country and had intentions of becoming a rural vet,’’ she said.
While completing a Bachelor of Agriculture degree at Melbourne University’s Dookie campus, as a pathway to becoming a vet, Tamara found she had fallen in love with agriculture.
“I’m thrilled that I have been able to turn it into a career. I worked at the Dookie College farm for a year before moving to a merino stud near Benalla in Victoria where I deep dived into the world of stud stock. After three-and-a-half years I joined the team at AWN, where I have loved being able to incorporate my knowledge into my role.”
Tamara and her partner now own their own farm where they run 500 merinos, and this enables her to relate to farmers and the successes and challenges they face.
“Whether that be fluctuating commodity prices, the rising cost of living or the increasing threat of biosecurity I feel it too,’’ she said.
Working on-farm and studying has provided Tamara with a wide skill set, both technical and practical.
“My technical skills include typing samples with AWEX-IDs, preparing and valuing catalogues each week, as well as auctioneering on sale day. My background working on a sheep stud has provided me with a good foundation and knowledge of sheep genetics and ram selection and I’m confident in the ins and outs of breeding values and assisting clients in using them to their advantage,’’ she said.
Tamara manages the audits and accreditations for the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS) in the southern region, both through New Zealand Merino (NZM) and the G Schneider Authentico RWS program.
“This requires good attention to detail, ensuring growers adhere to the standards required to uphold the integrity of the program along the supply chain. I also manage the ZQRX forward contracts some of our clients have with New Zealand Merino, dealing with the many intricacies involved in this process.’’
Tamara enjoys working with the wonderfully supportive team at AWN.
“I love that we are a relationship-based company and are willing to go the extra mile (literally) to service and continue to build relationships with our clients. I also love that I can pick up the phone and call anyone in the company for advice as there are a lot of years of knowledge and experience amongst everyone,’’ she said.
“I think it can be quite easy to paint clients with the same brush; thinking that they all have the same expectation of service. However, I have learned that clients are so unique, and by building good relationships and asking questions, we can understand our clients’ needs.
“I often invite growers to the wool sale, helping them to understand what happens after their wool leaves the farm gate, including coring, testing and selling and the impacts of farm decisions on the final product.
“On farm, I regularly assist clients with sheep classing and ram selection, supporting wool classers with shed visits at shearing time, as well as making time to help clients, wool classers and shed staff get set up and comfortable with WoolClip.
“I am passionate about helping my clients add value to their businesses through various marketing strategies and attention to detail. My client relationships are built on foundations of trust and transparency, which is what gets me out of bed in the morning. I love being able to travel across the countryside, talking to farmers from such different areas; I’m constantly learning.
“I believe my dedication and commitment to my clients is what sets me apart and am very grateful and excited to be nominated for this award. It is a wonderful opportunity.’’
AWN general manager wool Ben Stace endorsed Tamara’s comments saying during her tenure with AWN she has demonstrated unwavering commitment to her clients, always going over and above the call of duty to add value to their business.
“A prime illustration of this is Tamara’s lead role in the application of the New Zealand Merino (NZM) ZQ/ZQRX long-term supply contracts. Through her efforts, Tamara has reliably secured premiums exceeding 300c/kg above the auction market for wool sourced from her clients,’’ he said.
“In keeping with her drive to add value through innovation and efficiency, Tamara has actively supported several clients in adopting AWEX’s digital WoolClip program which streamlines the process of completing the National Wool Declaration (NWD).
“With a versatile skill set, Tamara is equally comfortable in the shearing shed, sheep yards, or with gavel in hand auctioneering on sale day. She is a consummate team player, always willing to assist her colleagues, and is well-respected by her peers and would be a very worthy winner of this award.’’
