Molly Green – Territory Manager, Upper North BASF

Molly’s move into Horticulture came through a friend who suggested that Molly come to Massey University, Palmerston North to study to be a Veterinary Technology.  Molly soon found that being a Vet Tech was not for her, however, in a biology of cells paper they learned how to dissect plant tissues to look at the diƯerent cells layers under a microscope. She loved it and thought, ‘this is it’.  In the second semester she then took up a degree in Science majoring in Plant Science, this degree she completed in 2019.

Molly is a mover and shaker, once she knew what she wanted to do, then she also knew that to learn more she would have to work in the industry during the university summer break.  Molly contacted 3 large growers in Pukekohe, near her home and Wilcox returned her call.

When on her practicum Molly says that she learned a lot and this learning was very useful for her study.  She has found that horticultural industry people really want young people to come into the industry and they are really supportive in fact she called her former employer her, ‘mate’.  Molly enjoyed her time so much that she decided to go back to Wilcox for a second practicum and while there she was taught how to drive the big tractors and trailers used for planting and harvest.  Molly says driving the tractors was a challenge, but one she says has been an integral step into her understanding of growers.

‘Palmerston North’, says Molly, ‘is a student town’.  She likes it as it is geared towards students. It is easy to get around and has everything you need.  Molly liked the university and particularly enjoyed that there was a large hands on component to her learning.  She particularly liked the Plant Growth Unit (PGU) and the strawberries she grew there from start to finish.  The fact that you could have a crop and be able to ‘destroy’ it to be able to learn was very valuable.  She called this her, ‘safe space’.

Molly made the most of her time at Massey.  She was the president of the Massey Horticulture Society.  She applied for scholarships and represented the university.  She believes that you need to stand up and be noticed.  People are keen to meet you, there are many good people out there who will want to employ you. Say, ‘yes’ to every opportunity that comes your way, even if it’s scary.

At the end of her degree Molly was taken on as the Carrot Crop Technical Support lead.  This is a highly responsible position as Wilcox has over 1000 ha of land in crops.  Molly says that this job at Wilcox catapulted her into other roles in the industry first Leaderbrand who has a land cover of 3500 ha.

Molly’s desire was to become a Technical Field Advisor with Horticentre.  But Horticentre correctly suggested that she was to experience growing first so that she would have an understanding from the ground up.  She says, ‘knowing and understanding how to grow from the ground up has meant that she can now move onto a growers property and have their respect as she has been there herself. As a young person this is critical when you are in an advisory role.’ After three and a half years with Horticentre, Molly believes that the only way to be able to learn and advise about the chemical needs of a crop is to be hands on first.

This year Molly has taken on the role as Territory Manager for BASF, an international German chemical company, founded in 1865.  It is recognized one of the largest chemical company in the world. The company oƯers a wide range of crop solutions including herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and seed treatments. ‘As the Upper North Island Territory Manager. I'm essentially running my own mini business, inside a large New Zealand business within a global business.
So it's really important to understand how to run a business.’  She believes that having some understanding of Agribusiness is a very useful tool.

Molly has been involved in many other exciting initiatives.  The Young Grower competition, working alongside other motivated horticulturalists; she was part of the Food and Fibre network launch; she has been to Belgium and South Korea with the International Horticulture Immersion program.  Molly’s passion is to help contribute to feeding New Zealanders.