Farming at Piripiri Station, Awakino. FILE PHOTO
A POPULAR course from Beef + Lamb New Zealand will be held in the mid North Island for the first time, beginning in March.
Generation Next teaches younger farmers and workers about improving farm profitability on sheep and beef or drystock properties.
Topics include farm business financial basics, decision making, technology and animal genetics.
“It’s a fantastic opportunity for our young farmers and fully funded by beef and lamb,” Āria farmer Natasha Cave said.
National extension programme manager at B+LNZ Olivia Weatherburn said one unique thing about Generation Next was its length.
With content being delivered over six months, it covered more detail than the more usual shorter offerings.
Organisers said the programme was designed to help young farmers build skills and confidence.
The goal setting aspect has proven popular.
“We get feedback that they hadn’t really thought of goals before, but now that they have them in writing they’re more determined to reach them.
“It’s about giving them a pathway and some structure going forward so that they have the confidence to be able to take those next steps.”
Applicants must attend all three live modules, to be held in Hamilton. Each intake has 20 places. It’s best suited to those from about 18 to 45, but “that’s not set in stone,” Olivia said.
They must be, or work for, a levy payer.
It is particularly aimed at those who are less likely to access other personal development opportunities.
The programme also pays attention to wellbeing, in addition to getting participants off their sometimes-isolated farms for the workshops.
“We do cover quite a bit on mental health and looking after themselves,” Olivia said.
The South Island programme has run for eight years, with diverse participants from within farming.
“The variety of people we have is very mixed, everyone from general shepherds, stock managers, right through to head shepherds and managers”, Olivia said.
Maria Shanks, extension manager for the mid North Island at B+LNZ, expects to see “a lot” of interest from the King Country.
She hopes to get enough applicants to fill the waitlist for a likely 2024 programme as well as for this year.
Maria said the strength of the “really neat” programme was that it built participants’ connections.
“It allows people to grow their network, not just with the other participants, which is obviously really helpful, [but also] to know other people in similar situations and with similar goals and aspirations, and in the wider industry itself.
“There’s a whole range of speakers and subject matter experts that will come in and talk to them over the range of modules.”
B+LNZ has produced four episodes of its Scene+Herd podcast based on interviews with five previous participants.
Two were released on January 19 and two will be released in early February.
