James Clark spoke to me about his work for MacFarlane Pheasants while traveling from his home in Las Vegas to Alberta, Canada. He was making this 19-hour road trip to begin a three month assignment setting up and overseeing the provincial distribution of pheasants. Jim Clark is living proof of our dedication to putting our customers’ needs at the forefront of our business!
Sometimes that includes helping customers decide what their needs are. The following are a few examples of how Jim does this:
- Jim helps customers get orders placed on time so that their hunt clubs can be ready for the season.
- He assists MacFarlane Pheasant customers with every aspect of caring for the pheasants they have purchased. This includes building pens or solving bird problems on-site.
- He makes sure customers’ questions about their birds are answered. Large flocks of pheasants are a major investment, and Jim is there to ensure they remain healthy.
- He offers customer consultations as-needed, which typically includes evaluating bird health, feed practices, and habitats.
It’s customer needs like these that have been sending Jim Clark all over North America since 2013, when Bill MacFarlane tempted him out of retirement to serve as a consultant to a hunt club in Idaho, that was experiencing some pheasant-related issues. Jim solved those problems, wrote a detailed report for Bill to confirm his findings and solutions, and ended up joining the MacFarlane Pheasant team, completing a full evaluation of the MacFarlane Pheasant operation in Wisconsin in 2014. Since that time, Jim has continued to work to build partnerships with customers all over North America and help keep them satisfied with their wild bird populations.
It’s no wonder Jim has a knack for understanding each customer’s specific needs—game birds have been in his blood from the time he was a small boy. As an infant, his mother would take him and his sister out by the pens while she was tending to the pheasants. While his 4-year-old sister was allowed to run around, an infant Jim was hung on a nail from his papoose until the work was finished. When he got a little older he was responsible for all the chores you will see on a pheasant farm. Hanging on a fence post was a thing of the past!
After purchasing his parents’ farm in 1978, Jim grew the business for 34 years, starting with raising 5,000 pheasants annually and growing to 100,000 pheasants by the time he retired. During this time, Jim also operated Wisconsin’s oldest hunt club until he sold it in 2006.
Jim’s relationship with Bill MacFarlane extends back to this time, as Jim bought all his pheasant chicks from him. Over 25 years later, they’ve come full circle, with Jim helping to assist MacFarlane Pheasant’s customers with their bird needs. And, according to Jim, he doesn’t have a moment of regret that he came out of retirement. He loves the travel, the business he knows so well, and the relationships he has established in the United States and Canada. “It’s a great life,” says Jim.
MacFarlane Pheasants is fortunate to have a man so experienced with pheasants representing us! When you need help or have questions before or after your wild bird purchases or want to make a purchase, be sure to contact us at 608.757.7881, toll free at 800.345.8348, or by fax at 608.757.7884.
