Tuesday, 25 October 2016 11:55

Rural banking beckons top Massey ag student

Written by  Peter Burke
Jack van Bussel. Jack van Bussel.

The winner of the Massey Agricultural Student of the Year prize, DairyNZ scholar Jack van Bussel (20), is planning a future in rural banking.

The award is for the student judged to have made the largest contribution to the wellbeing and reputation of his/her fellow agricultural students.

“I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “When they started describing who the winner was I thought ‘that sounds like me’, but I never really thought it could be. I am honoured to get it, I still can’t believe it and I really appreciate it.”

Van Bussel grew up on a lifestyle block near Whanganui, always out on farms and enjoyed that life. At school he enjoyed accounting and economics so a degree in ag commerce was the obvious option for him.

“I didn’t have the farming experience a lot of the people coming in had. Coming from a lifestyle block definitely gave me a start and it also gave me an open mind. Going into an agricultural degree course sort-of meant that I wasn’t focused on one industry and I could experiment with a lot of industries and find a lot of knowledge throughout the different sectors.”

Van Bussel says he loved university life, not only the academic side but making friends and taking up the other opportunities Massey had to offer. He gained a wealth of knowledge which will equip him well in his new role as a rural banker with Westpac in Hastings.

Van Bussel is grateful to DairyNZ for his three-year scholarship.

“They helped me with my course fees and a lot of other things such as career days, meet-and-greet events and career development. It’s been invaluable.”

He says he’d like to see more emphasis on promoting agriculture as a career because of its importance to the NZ economy. Many Kiwis’ misconceptions about agriculture in the community need to be addressed.

More like this

Unsung heroes under the soil

Much of the scientific work being carried out at the Massey University led regenerative agriculture project, Whenua Haumanu, is below the ground.

Editorial: Goodbye 2024

OPINION: In two weeks we'll bid farewell to 2024. Dubbed by some as the toughest season in a generation, many farmers would be happy to put the year behind them.

Taking heat stress out of cows

With the advent of climate change, dairy farmers could expect to be dealing with more days where their cows are suffering from heat stress.

Featured

New UHT plant construction starts

Construction is underway at Fonterra’s new UHT cream plant at Edendale, Southland following a groundbreaking ceremony recently.

National

Farm Source turns 10!

Hundreds of Fonterra farmers visited their local Farm Source store on November 29 to help celebrate the rural service trader's…

Climate-friendly cows closer

Dairy farmers are one step closer to breeding cow with lower methane emissions, offering an innovative way to reduce the…

Machinery & Products

A JAC for all trades

While the New Zealand ute market is dominated by three main players, “disruptors” are never too far away.

Pushing the boundaries

Can-Am is pushing the boundaries of performance with its Outlander line-up of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) with the launch of the…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Milking fish

OPINION: It could be cod on your cornflakes and sardines in your smoothie if food innovators in Indonesia have their…

Seaweed the hero?

OPINION: A new study, published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, adds to some existing evidence about…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter