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GRAIN MARKETING ADVISOR: KOPPIES
T RADE N E W S
From the Koppies district
for the area
IF YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE GRAIN MARKETING ADVISOR
IN KOPPIES, CHRISTELLE JANSEN VAN RENSBURG, IN ONE
SENTENCE, IT WOULD BE THAT SHE IS IN ESSENCE PART
OF THE KOPPIES DISTRICT AND THAT SHE IS THERE FOR
HER PRODUCERS, WITH ALL HER HEART AND SOUL.
AUBREY KRUGER
A
lthough Christelle has been
working as Senwes grain
marketing advisor for a year and
four months, she has been living
in the Koppies district all her life,
where she learned how to plant
and harvest from a young age.
This blonde was born in Koppies
and concluded her primary school
career at Sarel Cilliers, before she
attended Heilbron High School,
where she matriculated in 2009.
She knows the producers and they
know her. The only difference is
that she assists them now in her
capacity as Senwes grain market
ing advisor.
SERVICES A WIDE AREA
In addition to Koppies, she
also works in the Rooiwal,
Heuningspruit and Attie areas.
She is stationed in Koppies and
works in Kroonstad one or two
days per week.
What makes Christelle unique
is that she communicates exten
sively with her producers. Due
to her long list of producers,
she established a Koppies Grain
Marketing Whatsapp group, by
means of which she communicates
with them - market trends, open
ing and closing prices, etcetera.
22
She also communicates other
important information to the
more than 256 customers who
form part of the group.
She deals with every person on
an individual basis, "because each
person's information is private and
has to be dealt with confidential
ly.” Being somewhat of a novice,
she is supported extensively by
senior grain marketing advisor
at Senwes, Ben Brink, as well as
the broker at Senwes head office,
Marcel Lombard. “They taught
me a lot and I get a lot of infor
mation from them in order to
optimally support my producers.”
HER PRODUCERS ARE HER LIFE
“I really love my producers. It is
therefore very important for me
to get the best possible price for
them.” She knows the producers
from particularly Koppies and
Rooiwal, and between herself and
Ben Brink, they know everyone at
Heuningspruit and Attie as well.
“I understand their stories,
since my father is a farmer
as well,” she says. Her dad,
Gerhardus Strydom, farms
approximately 18km down
the Koppies Dam road, where
Christelle grew up. She married
Fanie Jansen van Rensburg on 22
April this year - Fanie farms at
Wonderheuwel between Sasolburg
JUN/JUL 2017 • SENWES Scenario
and Koppies.
This clever lady has a B.Com
Human Resource Management
degree, which she obtained in
Potchefstroom in 2013, and a
year later she obtained an honours
degree in Labour Relations.
Although she worked in the
labour relations field for two years
and she knows all the acts and pol
icies, she won’t change her job for
anything.
“I know my clients’ situations.
This is why they all have a spe
cial place in my heart.” After all
the communication and trading
during the morning, she captures
grain sales from 12:00 onwards
and gets her admin up to date.
She deals with every person
in the way they prefer to be dealt
with. A number of producers see
her at the branches and in the
afternoons she visits producers
on their farms. She also visits the
farmer unions at Greenlands, as
well as Renosterkop at Attie and
Heuningspruit.
She does everything in her
power for her clients. “The mo
ment the price increases, I let them
know. It is then up to the produ
cer to decide when to sell.”