Dairy Day Out for Hawke’s Bay Year 10 students
About 80 students from six secondary schools attended the Dairy Day Out in Central Hawke’s Bay. Kate Taylor reports.
We also get to look at our farms with other people's eyes. Andrea Barry
Milking cows, feeding calves, setting up an electric fence break and planting native seedlings – part of a sneak preview into the life of a dairy farmer.
‘‘I didn’t know farmers had to do all of this,’’ one Taradale High school student said while planting a young hebe in a fenced area next to a drain. It was Taliya Te Kiri’s first time on a farm.
‘‘Being a dairy farmer is more than just milking cows. They do so much else. This is the first time I have planted anything like this, actually, I’ve never really done anything like this before.’’
In the cow shed, putting cups on a cow was standard procedure for Riley Flanagan from Dannevirke High School, who lives on a dairy farm.
‘‘It’s still good to see different ways of doing things and what other jobs there are around dairy farming,’’ he said.
‘‘I definitely learned a lot about the dairy and transport sectors,’’ Taradale High School student Karlie Morrison said.
‘‘I enjoyed the hands-on modules involving the cows,’’ her classmate Tayler Clare said.
‘‘Learning about the accounting aspects of agribusiness, how much farms are worth and what you can earn was really interesting.’’
The Dairy Day Out was organised by the Tertiary Education Commission working with other organisations and businesses such as Young Farmers, Fonterra, the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and other government agencies.
It was hosted by BEL Group on its farm, Cloverlea near Takapau. A similar day was held last year in Patoka, both aimed at Year 10 students. The idea is to show the different career opportunities available across dairy farming and the wider agricultural sector.
‘‘Most of these students are about to start choosing the subjects they’ll study in Year 11,’’ BEL Group’s HR manager Nicola Whittle said.
‘‘We want to catch them early to show them the huge variation of jobs in our sector, everything from vets to environmental planners.’’
The day involved students from Dannevirke High School, Central Hawke’s Bay College, Te Aute College, Havelock North High School, Flaxmere College, Taradale High School, Napier Boys’ High School and Napier Girls’ High School.
Some of the students came from farms or farming backgrounds, while others were complete novices such as one student who had ‘‘visited an aunty on a dairy farm once’’.
Part of the ongoing programme for the commission is keeping schools and businesses connected after the careers day so students know what skills are required and what education pathways they need to take, while on the other side, businesses also need to know what talent is out there and how it can be nurtured.
The dairy industry is working to build the pipeline and it starts with changing perceptions, BEL Group owner Andrea Barry says.
‘‘It’s good to see the kids getting an interest not just in dairy farming but all the different aspects of agribusiness. It has been good for our staff as well – to encourage young people and showcase our business and our industry,’’ she said.
‘‘We also get to look at our farms with other people’s eyes.’’
BEL Group employs 65 staff milking 9000 cows on 2600ha of milking platform and leased dairy support land.
Cloverlea was a good base for the careers day with rolling topography and plenty of flat land around the cow shed for the visitors.
It is one of BEL Group’s nine farms – milking 800 friesian-cross on a mainly pasture based, 260ha milking platform targeting 1000kg of milksolids a hectare. It’s a standalone business unit but can draw on staff and other resources from within the rest of the organisation when needed, manager Phil Vallance says.
Vallance started his working career with a horticultural apprenticeship but moved into sheep and beef farming. He was involved with the Primary Industries Training Organisation(primaryito) when it was AGITO from being a student through to regional chairman running events for trainees.
Moving into dairy in 1999, he went from worker to manager to sharemilker. He started working for BEL Group in 2015.
Vallance had a personal message for students at the start of the day, talking about his dyslexia and how it had no effect on his ability to be a good farmer – he is in charge of a business turning over $1.5 million a year.
BEL Group operations manager Doug Dolan talked about leaving school young but choosing to do extra-mural university study in his 20s.
Barry spoke about her late husband Peter, with whom she started the businesses that make up BEL Group.
‘‘He grew up on a dairy farm in Otorohanga and his parents had sharemilkers on so they owned the land but not the cows. He just dreamed about being out on the farm but wasn’t allowed out there. So he would mow the lawns for his mother but pretend it was rows of silage. He borrowed $20 from his grandmother and bought chickens and then sold the eggs to his mother. He went off with friends onto their farms.’’
After the farm was sold when he was 17, she said he found a good farmer to work for and ‘‘listened and learnt and worked hard’’.
Barry’s main message to the students was to work hard, save hard and watch your reputation.
She said one of Peter’s mottos was ‘‘if it is to be, it is up to me’’.
‘‘He basically meant don’t rely on anyone else,’’ she said. ‘‘Get out there and work hard and do it yourself.’’
The careers day has seven sections using mainly contractors and businesses used by BEL Group with assistance also from Fonterra and Young Farmers members.
Hawke’s Bay Regional Council land management advisors Erica Smith and Nicola Mchaffie, along with Marie Taylor from Plant Hawke’s Bay, coordinated a session on the environment.
Students were told about how regional councils work with farmers, advising them how they can look after their land and the health of their waterways.
ANZ’S farm management and finance session saw the students trying to get their heads around everything from how much money they needed to get into farm ownership through to dealing with risk and dealing with banks and accountants and other advisers.
Stephenson Transport and Fonterra had a transport, distribution and logistics session where students found out about how both milk and animals were transported and the skills and responsibilities of drivers.
Agricom and Middle Hills Contracting looked at feed and machinery, telling students about crops and how to feed cows properly to ensure healthy milk.
The animal health section showed the extent of the roles involved with looking after animals. Tararua Vets and LIC taught the students about the role of vets and artificial insemination and the overall health of animals.
Young Farmers member Robert Barry, son of Andrea, who is 2IC on another BEL Group property, ran some Teenag games, similar to the Young Farmer of the Year’s agrisport. Students were mixed into groups of three from different schools and given basic farming tasks to complete as fast as they could.