With a Master of Science: Farm Animal Health & Public Health (2018) from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Utrecht, Netherlands, Femke has been with VetSouth since July 2018 as a large animal vet. Femke undertakes all sorts of large animal work but confesses to a love of dairy. Outside of work, New Zealand is for exploring. Not to mention a good glass of wine with friends. Or even a competitive game of football for Winton FC.

An elder statesman of VetSouth, Neil has been here since the beginning and is one of the original 7 shareholders.   Hailing from Northumberland, England (he still has the accent) Neil graduated from Edinburgh in 1988 (BVM&S).  Specialising in Cows (his car number plate is ‘COWDR’), Neil is well known for his expertise and knowledge, particularly in fertility and scanning.  Less so for his golf swing, which is how he spends his spare time, along with going to the gym and spending time with his wife and 3 children.  What’s kept Neil at VetSouth for so long?  He puts it down to “the people, the environment and the vibe”.

Originally from Sydney, Sunita attended Massey University, where she met Hayden (now her husband and fellow shareholder at VetSouth) and gained her BVSc.  A large animal vet, Sunita has been with VetSouth since the early days.  The appeal (apart from Hayden being here) is in the great people, in a pretty area with no traffic.  Outside of work is just as busy.  There’s horse riding, show horses, painting, crocheting, baking, running and making things look pretty.  There’s also the husband, 2 kids, 1 cat, 4 dogs, 5 horses, 1 yak, 1 deer, 1 goat...and a few more animals.  Once all that is done and tended to?  Then it’s time complete a diploma in interior design.  Phew.

Home has been a few places for Keryn, going to school in NZ, Rarotonga and Samoa. This was followed by time at Massey to get a Vet Degree, before heading off to James Cook University in Townsville for some post-grad work. This gives Keryn the impressive qualifications of BVSC 1992, MTVSc 2000 and PhD 2007. But what’s more impressive is her work as a Large Animal vet, focusing mostly on dairy (although she has a soft spot for Alpacas).

Theo graduated from Utrecht University (NL) in 2012. After graduation he went to New Zealand to start pursuing his dream of working as a large animal vet. Together with Elena he moved to Southland in the winter of 2015. Theo predominantly works as a dairy cow vet. IN his time off he enjoys hunting, fishing, boating and socialising.

Veterinarian, Shareholder, Director, Dairy Farmer & Mother - Georgette is one busy Dutch lady. Coming to VetSouth via the University of Utrecht (2003 DVM) Georgette has been with VetSouth since July 2016 and is currently our Clinical Head (West). Spending most of her time with dairy cattle, there is a special interest in ruminant nutrition and dairy farming systems. An active relaxer, the great New Zealand outdoors is a playground to Georgette, partner Dave and two children, Liam and Amelie. Running, biking and watersports are enjoyed by all, as is Georgette’s cooking and skill in the garden. Then there’s the 300 cows in their Lely robotic dairy.

Mark qualified from Glasgow in 1988, and spent the next seven years moving between intensive dairy practice in the North of England and climbing mountains. A stint in New Zealand convinced him that this was the best place to do both, so in 1995 he moved to the Waikato in the North Island.

In 1997 he moved South to head up the dairy side of Central Southland Vets in Winton. He became a director in 2001 by which time the practice had doubled in vet numbers and quadrupled in dairy farm numbers. In 2005 Winton and Gore vets joined to form VetSouth, in an attempt to create a well-resourced clinic environment with top clients that would attract and retain the best vets in the country.

In 2004 Mark gained his Masters in Epidemiology, and whilst still leading the dairy side of VetSouth, he now splits his time with heading the research group within VetSouth. His role is 50% clinical; 50% research; and 50% management…He is also an executive member of the Society of Dairy Cattle Vets in New Zealand; has a share in a 600 cow dairy farm; and at home runs 1800 sheep and 3 kids on 400 acres.

Creating VetSouth was all about elevating rural vet practice; the belief that just because we live a long way away from things farmers shouldn’t receive second rate veterinary services. To that end, VetSouth continues to develop and innovate and attempt to work with some of the best farmers in the country to add value.

He has climbed all over the world, including 4 expeditions to the Himalayas, and first ascents in South America and Antarctica. These trips formed a large part of his early travels and public presentations. Nowadays his travels are more concerned with presenting at conferences rather than climbing mountains.

A Winton native, Laura has been with VetSouth as a Vet Tech since 2018. And it’s a fun job too…”working with a great bunch of people and always having the opportunity to try new things”. Laura enjoys working with dairy cows. And at home, she enjoys spending time with her cat.

Katie grew up in the Otapiri Gorge on a sheep and beef farm. She then studied in Invercargill doing the Diploma of Veterinary Nursing, graduating in 2014. Katie enjoys working with both large and small animals, she loves the outdoors and getting together with her friends.

Tiarna is from Southland where she grew up around sheep and beef farms. She started work at VetSouth as a Vet Tech in January 2014 after completing her Diploma in Veterinary Nursing through SIT in 2013.

When not working Tiarna enjoys getting outdoors and spending time with friends and family.

On Maternity leave. Julia graduated from Lincoln University in 2007 with a BSc (Hons) in Animal Science. She has spent the last 2 years working in the United Kingdom and has now settled in Southland. She is originally from a sheep and beef farm in Cave, South Canterbury.

Narendra Varma joins VetSouth Ltd as an IT Technical support, based in Winton. Narendra and his wife moved to Invercargill from India so she can undertake tertiary studies at SIT. Prior to leaving India, he had 10 Years’ experience working in a help desk capacity at GcomSupport (Mumbai). In Narendra’s spare time he likes to go to the gym to work out.

A bigger house for the ‘fur babies’ is the future requirement for our Tegan. That’s because she shares her home with husband, Damien, along with 5 cats, 2 labradors and a Giant Flemish rabbit. Her space at work is shared with the rest of the Winton retail team. The fast pace of the Inventory coordinator role Tegan has held since 2018 is what keeps Tegan around, as do the people. Tegan has a National Certificate in Veterinary Nursing and enjoys clay bird shooting, the garden and sled dog racing in her spare time.

Jim has been with VetSouth for 23years, he is the all round handy man with a great knowledge of all products and clients. All ways there to lend a hand Jim enjoys spending time with his family and is religious golf player.