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Growing future leaders: New Zealand Young Farmers

3/31/2015

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PictureStudents completing a module at the Get Ahead Day.
Over the past week I have had the opportunity to immerse myself in the world of NZ Young Farmers and the amazing programs that they run across the country. All I can say is that I am truly inspired by the diversity and depth of work that this team pulls off to engage young people in the agri-food industry.

On Thursday I visited Hawera on the North Island and observed a Get Ahead Day. This is half day event targeted at secondary students to expose them to the range of career opportunities available in primary industries. The event is sponsored by Beef and Lamb NZ, and Dairy NZ and coordinated by the Young Farmers. It is a tremendous example of a coordinated effort across the sector. Twelve different organizations develop interactive modules to showcase careers and the skills that are used in their every day routines. There was everything from banks, to meat graders, to fertilizer companies. What a tremendous introduction to the world of agriculture!

Students were broken into teams and had to work together to complete tasks at each module. They were then awarded points based on their application of knowledge and their ability to work together as a team.  It was great to see students asking questions and engaging with the activities!


PictureEager participants at the Agri-Kids and Teen Ag competition.
My weekend was also filled with more Young Farmers! I was invited to be a judge of a Teen Ag module in Palmerston North. Teen Ag are clubs which are run in schools across the country. There are 71 clubs with about 1000 members nationwide. Teams enter the competition in pairs and complete a series of challenges which, not unlike the Get Ahead Day, expose them to a variety of skills in the agri-food sector. The competitive nature of the event is quite evident, with siblings and parents cheering from the sidelines. A Face Off is held at the end of the morning to culminate the activities and then a winner is announced.

A tremendous aspect of the day was the fact that there was simultaneously an Agri-Kids competition for elementary school students and the regional final of the NZ Young Farmer Contest. This meant that there were a range of competitors from 8-31 participating in different events. There is a clear progression for those eager Agri-Kids to see their ability to join Teen Ag, and potentially compete in the Young Farmer contest down the road.

It's all about pathways and highlighting the opportunities. Start early and offer continuous opportunities for young people to build their skills and engage in a meaningful way with the sector. These competitions and clubs do an excellent job of introducing young people to the possibilities within agriculture - which is the key first step to sparking that enthusiasm and changing perceptions of the less informed public. 


Now NZ Young Farmers are not all about competitions. Another one of the great activities that they are doing is around leadership development. This is what I would refer to as that second tier of career education: once students are interested you have to help identify the pathways they can take towards careers, and help build the possibilities which lie inside them as future employees, citizens and leaders.

The leadership programs in development by the Young Farmers include opportunities for the committees of Teen Ag Clubs to be placed with an industry coach and exposed to real life examples of workplaces and careers. There are also networking groups which are based on college/university campuses which again connect with industry leaders as guest speakers.

It is incredibly important that young people have the opportunity to grow as people - that they have the chance to work as a group, organize events, speak in front of an audience and learn how to run an effective meeting. These are the skills which will make them successful employees and active, engaged citizens. But they need to have these opportunities and it is incredibly difficult for them to find them on their own. As Rod O'Beirne of Fonterra noted to me at the Get Ahead Day, when these youth are part of the network and surrounded by successful and engaged people, it becomes their norm. They then strive to improve themselves and their skills.

What really drove home the value of the Young Farmers programs is the fact that most of the finalists in the Young Farmers Contest on Saturday highlighted the impact the clubs have had on their lives. These are the cream of the crop in the young generation of farmers in NZ. They were sharing the benefits of being involved in clubs which allowed them to 1) engage with agriculture and 2) develop their capabilities as a leader.

I'll say it again - I firmly believe we need to develop programs at both levels of career education: general awareness and deeper engagement/personal development. Let's widen the pool of interested parties and nurture those that are ready for the next step. 

While that personal development and success motivation is key, it is also important to note that not everyone will become a leader in the field. In fact, as Pete Fitz-Herbert (the NZ Young Farmer contest regional winner) said on Saturday night we need to think of people like a pasture: "some people are like clover; they contribute a lot without rising to great heights." What is important is that we nurture and 'fertilize' the individual abilities of the young people and try to get them to apply themselves in the agri-food sector. Clearly youth development organizations like Young Farmers are certainly an effective way to do that. 

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NZ Young Farmer contest finalists in Palmerston North. Future leaders of the industry.
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Drawing them in. Providing options for ALL levels of students. 

3/24/2015

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"So we've gotten Tom's score back. Congratulations. He's going to make an excellent farmer." 

"What about college?"

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid Tom's score simply isn't high enough."



- Scene from Interstellar 
I've just come off a 30 hour journey which included two flights (10 and 12 hours long) to arrive in Auckland, New Zealand from London, England. For those of you who have ever spent that much time on a plane, you will know that movies are a great way to pass the time. 

During the second flight I watched the movie Interstellar. If you haven't seen it, the story begins with planet earth in a state of decline, lessening the ability for humans to feed themselves. Thus, the search for another planet is taken on by a team of scientists working for NASA. 

One of the scenes which stood out to me is before the journey to other galaxies begins. The lead actor, Matthew McConaughey has to attend a parent teacher interview. He is told that his son is destined to become a farmer, because that is what his test scores dictate (see quote). In the world with declining resources, farmers are seen as essential in order to produce food. But the scene still underlines an important point - agriculture is seen as an area to go into if you aren't suited for other options.

This issue of the perception of agriculture as a career seems to be a pervasive one. On #QandA Australia last night (twitter) there was a lively discussion about the future of farming in Oz. Many people weighed in on their opinions about the age of farmers, the perception of farming, and the challenges and successes of bringing new people into the sector. Unfortunately I was on and off of airplanes during the chat, but the beauty of technology allowed me to revisit the discussion. A few tweets by @pipcourtney caught my attention:
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The stat about 700 graduates for 4000 agricultural jobs is a big one. It is not too different from the research commissioned by the University of Guelph, which found that there are 3 jobs for every 1 of their Bachelor of Agriculture graduates. 

But the statement around career advisers is extremely interesting. This was a topic which came up during my visit to Wiltshire College Lackham in England last week where Nuffield Scholar Liam Stokes introduced me to some of the staff and students. I had the opportunity to speak with some of the students taking the various agriculture and land based programs there. Some of them certainly shared the sentiment from @pipcourtney that they were discouraged from going into agri-food by teachers. Others said that their teachers didn't even mention it as an option. So where did they get the idea to do the programs? 

Many of the students I spoke to came from an agriculture background and knew that they wanted to study in a practical environment. The programs at Lackham all contain a practical element. In fact I got to visit the sheep area where lambing was in full swing and students from 3 different levels were participating in moving animals from one barn to another. 

Students that had been identified as "not suited to university", or who self identified as not enjoying school, have the capacity to enter into a program at a lower level and complete a one year program. Then depending on their success, they have the capacity to move upwards and complete another level. I really admire this program set up and the fact that it gives students the opportunity to succeed and to work their way up the levels at a speed which works for them. There is no big commitment for a 2 or 4 year program necessary. A few of the students that I spoke to said they didn't know what they would be doing if they didn't have the option to take things at their own pace. 

Another interesting element of the visit to Lackham was the School Links program. This is a program that allows students still in secondary school to participate in a visit to the college once a week for agriculture focused classes and practical experiences. Again, these tend to be students who have been identified as "difficult students." However what I saw was engagement - the opportunity to pursue something interesting with like minded peers. Some of these students will progress on to programs at Lackham. Without the School Links program, how many would have been offered that option?

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Interviewing students at Lackham College. Photo courtesy of Liam Stokes.
Not all of the students stories of working their way up the levels. And not all of the students were discouraged from pursuing agriculture. 


One of the most interesting students I spoke to was a young woman who was helping with the milking in the dairy barn. Although she doesn't come from a farm, she grew up around horses and felt drawn to the sector. She volunteers her time and coordinates car pooling with a friend to come help with the milking a few times a week. She is very academic and has been encouraged by her parents and teachers to go to university level courses. That will most likely be her destination, but she wants it to be in the upper level courses at Lackham College. Luckily, her teacher was the one who told her about the school and the programs available there. It would be great to hear more stories like this, wouldn't it?

I think that there is a few key things that I learned from my visit to Lackham about how we can attract more students to careers in agri-food, and remove the stigma of ag being for those "unable to do anything else":

  1. We need to do a better job of educating educators (and career advisers) about the options in agriculture
  2. We need to do a better job of highlighting the opportunities for growth and development in agriculture (to students, to educators, and to parents)
  3. We need to have a variety of options/pathways for students to enter into should they wish to study agriculture
  4. We need to provide 'taster' opportunities for students to see what agri-food careers are all about
  5. We need to use students as our spokespeople. Let them tell their peers why they love their programs/jobs. 



The positive angle is that a lot of these initiatives are already being done in many countries and regions around the world. So let's keep up the good work and put some extra effort into highlighting the options (for all levels of students) and staying positive about the industry.


I have many more meetings set up this week in New Zealand and can't wait to see what inspiration lies in this country!!
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Are you asking the right questions?

3/17/2015

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PictureRamblings of a Nuffield Scholar
Questions. Since the start of my Nuffield research I have asked many. In fact, I've got a whole list that I refer to in every meeting I have. Often I end up adding more questions to that list after I have met with someone. I guess that is part of the process - it is organic and morphs with situations and context. 

But in my elusive attempt to shut off my brain after 6pm last night I had another question: Am I asking the right questions? A sense of panic came over me as I started to wonder if I was missing some jewel of information because I neglected to inquire in the right way. 

Here is an example. Many agri-businesses say that a passion for agriculture is a key trait they appreciate in future employees. So I had asked a few people how they thought we could sow the seeds of passion for agriculture in more young people. Some answers surprised me. Two of my interviewees said the same thing - can you even do that? Shouldn't we be focusing on the ones who are already passionate? Well that threw me for a loop! Here I am trying to expand the roster of people entering careers in agri-food and I'm being told to actually narrow the search! 

It got me thinking that perhaps I need to follow up that original question with "how do we do a better job of harnessing the passion of those young people interested in agriculture?" (which is a actually a better and more exciting question). 

This was further confirmed when I woke up this morning to an email in my inbox from a young woman back home who is very passionate about agriculture She is looking for help at making some connections in the industry because she graduates from a business and food management degree next year and will be entering the workforce. That is the kind of passion that we need to be nurturing. Those are the young leaders who deserve opportunities to prove themselves and make a mark on the agri-food industry. How do I engage her, and help to set her on a path to a successful and meaningful career in agriculture? The importance of positive role models, mentors, and young leader programs is becoming increasingly clear!

I'm so glad that I took the time to reconsider my approach to my questions. I think the lesson here is that it is important to take "1 minute for silent reflection" (lol #nuffield15) and ask ourselves if we are asking the right questions. It's a bit like those choose your own adventure books - if you always make the same decisions you will always arrive at the same destination. So make a different decision. Ask a different question. You never know where it may take you. 

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    About me...

    I was raised as the seventh generation on a mixed livestock farm near Guelph, Ontario. Currently I am living in the beautiful Okanagan region of BC, where my husband works for Blue Mountain Winery. I maintain my close ties to Ontario agriculture through my job with AgScape (Ontario Agri-Food Education Inc.) and hope to bring a national, and global perspective to agricultural issues. 

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