The agri-food sector is a vital part of New Zealand’s economy and needs young, talented people to fuel it into the future, the bank says.
“NZ Young Farmers is an impressive organisation with a footprint of 80 clubs,” says Chris Cowell, head of rural at Heartland Bank.
“It provides young people with information, advice, training and networking opportunities, and Heartland is excited to be part of the wider team.”
Partnering with NZ Young Farmers gives Heartland an opportunity to get its livestock finance in front of the young people, who are part of the next rural generation.
“We’re immensely proud of our livestock finance products, which trade under the Open for Livestock banner,” said Cowell.
“We want to raise awareness of how they can help give young farmers a leg-up, whether it be buying cattle or sheep for trading, or entering the dairy industry as sharemilkers.”
NZ Young Farmers said it was proud to be partnering with a company whose heritage was firmly planted in rural New Zealand.
“Heartland’s roots stretch back to 1875 when the Ashburton Permanent Building and Investment Society was created,” said NZ Young Farmers chief executive Terry Copeland.
“The bank is a big supporter of rural communities and we believe it will be an excellent fit with our organisation.”
Heartland said its Open for Livestock platform had been designed with speed and simplicity in mind.
“We know farmers are busy and that sometimes opportunities present themselves without warning, which is why we offer a simple online application process,” said Cowell.
“With Open for Livestock, farmers can apply for 100% stock finance any time, on any device and get a decision within minutes.”
