Sue Bidrose has promised the finer details of intestinal worms will not be a topic for discussion at home over dinner.
As it turns out the new AgResearch chief executive knows quite a bit about internal parasites in livestock.
Bidrose worked as a laboratory technician at Wallaceville in the early 1980s, which involved faecal sampling to determine parasite levels.
While preparing the job interview she was excited to learn parasite burdens can now be determined from swabs taken inside an animal’s cheek.
Bidrose replaces Tom Richardson who resigned last year after nine years as chief executive. Finance and business performance director Tony Hickmott has been acting chief executive.
The Dunedin City Council chief executive was heavily involved in a campaign to save AgResearch’s Invermay campus on the Taieri Plains, which was at risk of being gutted in 2013 by the Crown research institute’s Future Footprint plan.
That plan would have also seen staff at Ruakura in Hamilton scaled back with scientists from both campuses relocated to Grasslands at Palmerston North and to Lincoln.
Fearing the impact of losing 85 Invermay staff the council, farming bodies, southern sheep breeders, Otago University, private science providers and a 12,450 petition fought AgResearch.
In the ensuing six years few scientists have moved north though 40 resigned.
AgResearch’s plan was weakened when an Auditor-General’s report said it had not made a sufficiently strong business case for its plan.
After six years of uncertainty AgResearch last year confirmed Invermay will remain its centre for sheep genetics and genomics research.
Staff will not be forced to relocate and the Future Footprint project has effectively ended.
Bidrose says since news of her appointment broke Otago University researchers keen to collaborate with AgResearch, something she is keen to pursue, have approached her.
Her involvement resisting the downsizing of Invermay will help her credibility with staff, she says.
“The staff there know that I know they matter to me.”
Bidrose says the debate also taught her the importance of leaders taking people with them when promoting change.
“I’m delighted Invermay is still there and it taught me the importance of spreading scientific experience over four hubs, which is what we argued for at the time.”
A love of science while at school in Wainuiomata led to her job as a laboratory technician at Wallaceville.
During her spare time Bidrose volunteered at not-for-profit organisations, which provoked a change in career.
She did a psychology degree at Victoria University but finished her doctorate at Otago.
On graduation Bidrose returned to Wellington where she worked in policy advice and implementation for the Ministry of Social Development before moving into local government, holding research and operational roles at Waitakere City Council from 1998-2005.
Bidrose returned to Dunedin and a senior manager’s job at the city council before promotion to chief executive, a position she has held for the last seven years.
Interest in AgResearch remained and when the position of chief executive was advertised she felt the time was right to apply.
It has been a career in public service and she sees her role at AgResearch as an extension of that, albeit with different stakeholders.
While not a scientist Bidrose is interested in and committed to science and is science literate.
“I’m not a scientist, which could be an issue for some, but it’s a manager’s job I have been given not a scientist’s job.”
Bidrose says she leaves the council in a better position than when she arrived, citing an increase in repairs and maintenance of city infrastructure and assets, something that does not draw the attention it deserves.
She wanted to create a modern, best practice, A-grade public sector and feels she has achieved that.
While too early to detail the aspects of AgResearch she wants to change Bidrose says she has belief in the organisation and a commitment to working with others to make it better.
There are contentious issues to contend with and she sees the role of science to provide information for people to debate and decide whether to allow or forbid tools such as genetic engineering.
“If genetic engineering starts to provide farmers with assistance to deal with climate change adaption that is one thing but if it can give them a tool for climate change or environmental damage mitigation then that is a hard national conversation to have.
“It is the job of AgResearch to do the science, get the information and put it out for the public to decide.”
Bidrose wants to ensure farmers are aware of the research generated by scientists and can adopt if it is relevant and useful.
“If science is not changing farm practice then what is the point?
“You can’t make farmers adopt the technology but you have to show them that it is worthwhile and that it has to be easy.”
Key to that will be cementing partnerships and collaboration, a policy she pursued while at the council.
She finishes work at the council on July 17 and starts in her new role at AgResearch’s Lincoln campus on July 27 and says it is the right time to work in science.
“Now is a great time to be working back in science. The whole country has seen how important good science is for the well-being of New Zealanders and AgResearch is at the forefront of that good science.”
