WORDS BY ANNIE STUDHOLME, IMAGES PROVIDED BY GROWING FUTURE FARMERS AND PING HORN
Recent winners of the Rabobank People Development Award as part of the 2024 Beef + Lamb New Zealand Awards, interest in the Growing Future Farmers (GFF) programme continues to soar. This year, the farmer-led training programme received 131 applications from school leavers, significantly outstripping the 80 places currently available on farms in 14 regions across the country.
To date, GFF has had more than 70 successful graduates through the programme, with 100 per cent of students finding employment across all facets of the industry. A further 51 students graduated last month (November).
Born around a kitchen table in rural Gisborne, Dan and Tam Jex-Blake realised that for something to happen about the skills shortage facing the sector, they needed to take action themselves. After starting with just two students in 2017 and 2018 as part of a pre-pilot, it grew to three in 2019.
GFF officially started in 2020 in the Wairarapa and Gisborne, involving just 10 students and 10 sheep, beef, and deer farmers. Since then, it has grown over 1,000 per cent in the past four years, says GFF programme operations lead, Taryn Helm.
Aimed at young people aged 16 to 20 who want a career pathway in the ag sector, there’s no requirement for applicants to have come off a farm or have proven farming capability before they start. It comes down to having the right attitude and a willingness to learn. They also needed basic numeracy and literacy skills, empathy for animals, and their Restricted Drivers Licence, explains Taryn.
“It’s about 60/40 split with around 60 per cent of students coming from a rural background, while 40 per cent have come from more urban settings. Some are very green, and it’s great to give them the opportunity to get out, fulfil their passion, and make a life for themselves.”
The unique, NZQA-approved, two-year, fees-free programme focused on ensuring the students were “work ready” when they graduated, providing them with the necessary practical skills, training, life skills, and experience to enter the industry as confident, mature young people.
Students live and learn on the farm for two years, receive a living allowance, and access subsided support, including accommodation, Wi-Fi, equipment, and clothing. They spend four days each week on the farm and the fifth with expert trainers, learning everything from fencing and tractor training to shearing, stockmanship, animal health, soils, and financial literacy. There is a big focus on health, safety, and wellbeing; students also complete a First Aid Certificate. Trainees are also given two pups to train, a heading dog, and a huntaway, with help from specialist dog trialists.
But the programme is about much more than just the physical training. “It is about growing good, well-rounded, decent humans, with the skills and attitudes to be work ready as soon as they finish the programme.”
Taryn says pastoral care was a key component as many of the participants were young and away from home for the first time. Student Success Advisors were on hand in every hub as an interface between students and farm trainers to help iron out any issues, should they arise. They’re also there to make sure they can look after themselves, teach them how to use the washing machine, cook a meal, and clean the toilet.
Matching farm trainers with prospective students was also carefully considered. All farmer trainers are accredited. “While we try to keep them as close to home as possible, the main goal was to set the student up in the best learning environment. Some of them are still quite young. We want to give them every opportunity to succeed. They’re not just a cheap labour unit. We must ensure they are getting that solid grounding across all areas in a supportive learning environment.”
Today, there are more than 100 GFF accredited farm trainers nationally, but more are needed to meet student demand, especially in Canterbury, King Country, and the Kurow/Otago region.
Mt Somers Station owner David Acland first got involved in GFF three years ago as a way of investing in the industry’s future. Their first student left the programme after a year, and their second just graduated.
“We knew a lot of people involved in getting the programme off the ground and we always had a lot of young people on the farm, so it made sense. I think they’ve got the fundamentals right. It’s been designed for farmers, by farmers.”
David says that in the sheep and beef industry, one of the biggest barriers for farmers taking on young people is the cost. Unlike the dairy industry, where youngsters can quickly be valuable milking in the shed, there’s so much training and skills required to be valuable entry-level employees worth a working wage in sheep and beef.
That’s where GFF comes into its own. For us, GFF’s unique learning framework ensures students receive both academic and practical training, he says. They spend on average, four days a week on-farm training and building experience, with Fridays set aside for practical learning. “It works well for us because we know they will not be there on Fridays, so we can plan for that.”
Perhaps more importantly, David says the GFF programme offers great wraparound support. “The pastoral side of things was always a big sticking point when dealing with teenagers on a farm. They all have their ups and downs. GFF covers that pastoral side well, which is great for the farm trainer and the student.”
However, being involved in GFF requires a mindset change, he says. “You have to remember they are students. They are there to learn. They are not an employee.” When they arrive, they are often very green and know absolutely nothing. “At the start, it’s just about letting them absorb things and become more confident. After about six months, they start to become more useful. It’s a huge transition for them.”
On the plus side, they are often a blank canvas, says David. “They are the kind of recruits we like because they are pretty naive to farming. They don’t come with any bad habits. Unlike a kid that’s grown up on a farm and had 17 or 18 years of learning, they have not lived in a rural environment; you are trying to cram all that knowledge into two years.”
He says it’s rewarding to have young people start with little to no farming skills and then see them progress, develop and grow as people to become valuable contributors to the team and the business. While not all of them continue as shepherds, they tend to stay in primary industry, which is a win for the wider industry.
Being a farm trainer also forces you to stop and think about all your training and health and safety processes on the farm. It forces you to analyse what you are doing, helping you identify improvement opportunities, says David.
Their most recent student, Indigo Stirling (19), came from Rolleston with little farming experience and has flourished over the two years. “I doubt we would have taken her on if she wasn’t part of GFF, but she has grown into the role of shepherd. She will make someone a great employee, and we wish her well.”
While it wasn’t for everyone, David says it’s worth it if you enjoy having young people and want to be part of the solution.
Back to Real Farmer