Growing future leaders: New Zealand Young Farmers

Students 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!

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Eager 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. 

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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. 

NZ Young Farmer contest finalists in Palmerston North. Future leaders of the industry.