Although 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 marketing 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 extensively 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, opening and closing prices, etcetera. 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 confidentially.” 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 information 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 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 policies, she won't change her job for anything.
“Because my father and my husband are farmers, I know my clients' situations. This is why they all have a special 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.
The most important point is that she does everything in her power for her clients. “The moment the price increases, I let them know. It is then up to the producer to decide when to sell.”