About Us

FECPAK started in New Zealand in 1993 with the launch of the FECPAK Faecal Egg Counting Unit (FEC) Unit. This innovative product was the result of a desire to provide farmers with accurate, quick and reliable FEC information on the farm - something that had never been attempted previously.

In the early days, the aim was simply to replicate a laboratory result on-farm. Once this had been acheived the methodology and equipment was dramatically improved and over the years FECPAK has become a customised purpose-built unit designed for on-farm use.

The most dramatic advance though, is in using regular FEC data to modify stock management. These new management strategies have resulted in a system that is much more than a simple box of equipment.

While FECPAK's core products have traditionally been related to internal parasite management the company's mission statement is:

"To be global leaders in providing technology and management systems for superior on-farm production and profitability".

Greg Mirams

After graduating from Lincoln University with a Diploma in Agriculture and Farm Management, Greg spent 3 years in the UK as a project accountant before returning to New Zealand in 1992. Greg established FECPAK in 1993 and remains at the helm today, supported by a small focused team based in Dunedin, New Zealand. Through his time at Lincoln University and practical farm experience, Greg identified a need for an accurate, quick and reliable method of measuring FEC (faecal egg counts) to assist with better on-farm management of parasites.  Farmers around the world now use FECPAK technology within their farming operations.  FECPAK is also used by many researchers and governmental agencies around the world for industry trials into internal parasite management.  FECPAK have now developed a wide range of products and services that include diagnostic tools for managing facial eczema, accessing drench resistance and measuring phenotypic variations within a flock for the breeding of resistance to parasites.

Greg was also the technical manager on the large scale consortium S³ Project (Sheep Sustainability Strategy) that explored practical parasite management and genetic solutions for farmers. He also set up and managed the TechNZ funded Cattletech Project which focused of improving on-farm cattle parasite management.  Greg was also a co-developer of the Greenprint Project, which is a consortium supply chain management initiative.  More recently Greg was a participant in the EU funded project Parasol, where FECPAK's technology was trialed on 8 farms across the UK which resulted in farmers lowering their chemical inputs and improving their animal performance. 

Greg is a current member of the WormWise extension & review committees, which is the national consortium for the promotion of best practice parasite management.  In recognition of Greg's achievements the New Zealand Society of Animal Production awarded Greg with the Sir Arthur Ward Award in 2005, for his efforts in the communication and application of principles of animal production.  
In December 2006 FECPAK was purchased by PGG Wrightson and now trades as a separately branded business unit within the corporate group.
 

Prof Andrew Sykes presents Greg Mirams with the Sir Arthur Ward award