Felix Rodriguez Firpo

Felix lives in Palmerston North with his wife Clara and three children Sara, Beltran and Lucas. He loves his job, and sees himself as a connector, turning complex data into research and practical insights so he can support farmers’ decision-making.

“I enjoy the variety in my role,” says Felix. “It includes office work and number-crunching, combined with getting out there connecting with farmers, rural professionals, farm consultants, agronomists, scientists, DairyNZ’s regional teams and others in the sector.

“Together, we gather and share knowledge and information, and having been a dairy farmer myself, I know how busy farmers can be. All this data helps to develop resources, tools and key messages to support farmers, and save them time and energy.”

• Find out more about DairyNZ’s other specialist team members.
• Check out our research team and our regional teams.

“Out on farm—which is definitely my favourite part—I get to share these insights directly with farmers, either one-on-one or at events. Hearing their feedback and learning from their experiences is a key part of making sure our work stays grounded and practical.”

Felix and his colleagues use a farm systems lens to help farmers make sense of the data, putting it in context for geographic areas and different business types. They also include high-performing farms in their reporting, which all dairy farmers use as a benchmark to see how they’re doing in comparison.

Originally from Argentina, Felix came to New Zealand in 2014, going dairy farming before moving to Palmerston North. Initially he worked at one of the Massey University farms, and did a Masters in Agri-Commerce, linking it with his business degree. He’s been with DairyNZ in various roles since 2019, including working on the Tararua Plantain Project.

“I’m accredited to run the Farmax modelling too, and I use Farmax and the OverseerTM environmental tool to estimate nutrient flows and greenhouse gas emissions on farms,” adds Felix, who is keen to encourage people to think about the importance of the dairy sector for New Zealand, and future generations.

“Farming needs to be profitable while looking after the environment. Every year, what we’re doing is giving us more tools to do that. We hope that farmers will come and talk to us about how they can farm more easily, successfully and sustainably. That’s what we’re here for.”

• Find out more about DairyNZ’s other specialist team members.
• Check out our research team and our regional teams.