Farmer Time for Schools expands, connecting more students with farmers
In the past year, the Farmer Time for Schools programme which seeks to connect New Zealand school students with farmers, has experienced further growth.
Massey University is tweaking the format of its agricultural courses.
The university's deputy head of the school of agriculture and environment, Professor Danny Donaghy, says they are making sure there are more courses around compliance, greenhouse gases, animal welfare and other key topics. But he says that if new material is added in, some must be removed, because the degrees are just three years.
"What we are trying to do is give graduates a good appreciation of the systems that they work within and to be able to navigate these.
"Not necessarily to have the answers to everything, but we are trying to train them as to where to look for the answers rather than just filling up their heads with figures," he says.
Donaghy says in the age of online, so much more information is freely available, compared with several years ago. He says they are trying to upskill students about how and where to look for information.
"And to know good information from bullshit and to be able to navigate their way through that," he says.
Donaghy says he agrees with the report of AgFirst chief executive James Allen on the skills that will be required for future rural professionals. He says understanding farm systems is key - as is having the people skills to meet the demands of clients and deliver this in a way they require.
Finally, Donaghy says he never ceases be amazed at the high calibre of the Massey ag graduates.
He says their commitment to their studies is great to see and it's no surprise how well Massey is respected in the agriculture and environment space.
Recent rain has offered respite for some from the ongoing drought.
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
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