Dr Taylor is looking forward to a quieter pace of life as he and his wife take up a new abode in the North Island to be closer to family, but he admits he will miss his southern clients, many of whom he has known since they started out on their own farm journeys.
Originally from North West Province, South Africa, Dr Taylor worked in Swellendam Cape for six years and then farmed in the North West running an extensive beef operation. In 1994 he made the decision to move his family to New Zealand.
"Where we lived wasn’t safe; there was a farm murder nearby.
‘‘It was an easy process for us to immigrate. I got a job offer in Otautau and we were here within a couple of months.
Dr Taylor’s family had a farming background and his father was also a lawyer.
"I worked very hard to get through my vet degree and I was lucky in my first job in South Africa I had a good boss. I very much had a feeling of imposter syndrome; like I wasn’t smart enough to be there, and my boss made it a safe place to ask questions and not be afraid to make mistakes; as that’s an inevitable part of the learning process," he said.
All these years later, Dr Taylor has tried to offer the same level of support to young vets when they first join the workforce.
"It’s important to empower young vets, fill them with the confidence to take on challenges and enable them to stand on their own two feet when it comes to making decisions and offering advice to clients," he said.
The shift to a new country required getting used to the different breeds and the various issues and diseases Kiwi farmers deal with.
"Issues in New Zealand are mostly around management and production problems. South Africa has tick-borne diseases and many potentially toxic plants, and a wide range of bacterial and viral diseases such as Brucella, Botulism, Lumpy skin disease, Blue Tongue and Enzootic abortion to name a few," he said.
Working mostly with merino sheep before he arrived in New Zealand, Dr Taylor was taken back by the strong-wool breed in New Zealand "the wool felt awful to begin with, but I got used to it. I was also amazed at the phenomenal production of the strong-wool sheep in New Zealand".
Working mostly with cattle in recent years, Dr Taylor has particularly enjoyed ruminant nutrition and "getting to the bottom of a sick cow".
He had a front row seat to the Southland dairy boom in the mid-90s.
"Many of my clients moved down from Taranaki and Waikato and purchased their first block of land to convert to dairy and I watched them progress over the decades. It was a fantastic era to be involved in as they were all young families working hard to get ahead."
In recent years he has been working predominantly on the Taieri Plain.
"The Taieri has been great, dealing with family-owned farms."
After 15 years in the Otautau clinic, Dr Taylor moved into a management role for Clutha Vets, running the Milton clinic for about 13 years. He then stepped back from management and worked four days a week out in the field and later went to three days.
As veterinary practices become "more corporatised", Dr Taylor has stayed loyal to Clutha Vets as he has enjoyed the family-like culture of the company.
"There has never been any kind of pressure to push certain products on clients, if it’s not something I would choose to do if it was my own farm, then I am not going to recommend it to a farmer," he said.
