Training & Education

Spotlight on mental health

By Tony Benny

Ag courses at Lincoln University are not just about learning the ins and outs of farming, but have expanded to include mental health and coping mechanisms.

Teaching students about mental health is just as important as teaching them science, management and animal husbandry, Lincoln University lecturer Dan Smith says.

“Mental health challenges are more common in agriculture than they are in the general public and they’re more common in young people,” Smith says.

“As a university we’re dealing with a group of people who are having tough times and we’re preparing them to enter an industry where they’re going to have potentially tougher times, which is why we here at Lincoln University are doing something about it.”

Once a Lincoln student himself and now a lecturer in farm management, Smith recently spoke to a B.linc Innovation workshop at the university about mental health and wellbeing. In his uni days, mental health was seldom mentioned but when he was a Ravensdown fertiliser rep he became aware of how big an issue it is.

“I saw all of this stress and all of this depression and heard stories of suicide and I was like, ‘What is all of this?’. I thought I knew everything there was to know about agriculture but this was happening,” he says.

Mental health is a well-known issue in New Zealand and an estimated 25% of us identify as having personal mental health challenges. Those challenges have an effect on 80% of the population. Those most likely to be affected are in the 15-24 years old age group.

Farmers deal daily with stresses that include weather, water, hard work, regulation, family, staff, breakdowns, pests and commodity prices and for some, it’s too much.

“It causes farming to be reported as (one of) the top 10 most stressful jobs in the world and mostly caused by isolation,” he says.

Smith realised what a lonely occupation farming could be when he returned to NZ from his OE. He worked in the UK as a soil sampler but was never far away from people, driving to jobs on a multi-lane highway, seeing planes overhead, trains going by and people walking as he worked in the paddock. He says doing a similar job back home was quite different.

“I found myself a month later out the back of Waimate with no human in sight so isolation, particularly in New Zealand, given the way we farm, given the farm types, out the back of Cheviot, in the middle of Arthurs Pass, in Murchison, it’s a very isolated place,” he says.

“One of the biggest causes of rural mental health issues in the community is isolation, time on your own, time to think, loneliness, when you’ve got all these other stresses going on.”

Students are known internationally, across sexes and age groups, to be a high-risk group for mental distress too, so when he returned to Lincoln as a lecturer, Smith wanted mental health to be included in what he was teaching.

“As much as we’re telling you how to increase your calving rate, how to grow more grass, how to get better crops, how to deal with your mental health is just as important – to me, anyway,” he says.

He tells the story of a group of nine young men he watched passing his office, all of them at least 100kg, in the prime of their lives, with a background of farming, four-wheel-driving, hunting, playing rugby and drinking beer.

“I was thinking, what if one of them was struggling with mental issues? How hard would it be for him to come out and say to those other eight, ‘I’m depressed. You know I broke up with my girlfriend last month and I’m actually really sad about that’,” he says.

“It would generally be very hard for them to come out, so we want to try to make that not so hard by just breaking down those barriers, by just normalising people talking about these kinds of topics.”

With other staff, and in consultation with others working in the mental health field, including Farmstrong, Smith has incorporated a mental health component into the three-year BCom Ag degree course.

It starts during the first two weeks new students are on campus. They’re told basics like what consent means, how to make sure your drink doesn’t get spiked, what looking after your mates means, along with pointers on personal wellbeing. A programme called Well Mates has been put in place, a peer-topeer activity where the students split into groups to talk about signs, symptoms and tools for dealing with mental health.

Lincoln University lecturer Dan Smith says mental health challenges are more common in the agriculture sector and in particular, affect people in the 15-24 age group.

“It causes farming to be reported as (one of) the top 10 most stressful jobs in the world and mostly caused by isolation.” Dan Smith

Late in their second year, a week-long mental health event is staged where guest speakers and mental health champions talk to students.

“By the time they get to the second half of second year, they’ve still got some university to go and they’re starting to think about when they get out into the industry, so some of the focus is still on them in the now, but we’re starting to open their eyes up to beyond university, challenges with staff, how to deal with people, human resources challenges and your own mental health challenges,” he says.

The support continues in the third year too.

“This is more about leaving the university. This may happen to you, to someone you know, it might happen in a week or it might happen in three years but when it does we want you to be familiar with some websites, there are some strategies, some ways to talk to people, particularly the ability to spot it and we really want to make them familiar with Farmstrong,” he says.

He believes addressing mental health is part of what the university should be doing.

“We have a responsibility to discuss this topic, to remove the stigma around it. We want to create a culture of acceptance and we want to normalise this topic, which are just some of the keys to breaking it down.”

Smith compares talking about mental health today to talking about smoking in the 1980s.

Telling your mates they shouldn’t smoke might have seemed weird then but now it’s normal. He hopes the same will happen with talking about mental health.

“We’re just trying to chip away, we’re trying to talk about it because we want

Dan Smith presented at a B.Iinc Innovations workshop at Lincoln University where he spoke from experience on how isolation on farms can affect mental wellbeing.

it to be a normal thing people can talk about,” he says

He believes that the tide may be starting to turn and thinks a recent encounter with a former student shows that. The young graduate was offered a dream job managing a farm straight out of university, not an opportunity many get.

“He called in after about three weeks and I said, ‘How’s your new job?’ and he said, ‘It’s a bit lonely’ after just three weeks. So luckily he knew and if we hadn’t talked about it, he might have thought ‘There’s no way I’m saying that’. We just need to break down those barriers and talk about it,” he says. n

CEO’s vision shaped by diversity

By Richard Rennie

One of this year’s St Peter’s Distinguished Alumni award winners says the school played a pivotal role in shaping his future success.

Craig Piggott, founder of Halter, the revolutionary smart collar that automates cow movement admits despite not being the perfect student during his time at St Peter’s, he still took a lot away with him that helps him today.

Piggott is a recipient of this year’s St Peter’s Distinguished Alumni award, to be presented in November.

The award seeks to recognise those whose achievements epitomise excellence as their goal in society. Three alumni are chosen annually, based on various criteria set out by the school in conjunction with the St Peter’s Alumni Committee.

He heads up the groundbreaking agri-tech company that is redefining how farmers manage their dairy cows, their farms and themselves, providing a completely new approach to farming systems.

The solar-panelled, GPS-enabled collars teach cows to move and respond to signals, enabling farmers to remotely shift their cows, or keep them within defined grazing areas, all from their smartphone.

The rapidly growing business is not completely removed from his past. He grew up on his parents’ dairy farm near Morrinsville and attended St Peter’s as a boarder.

“I think it was the boarding experience as much as school itself that taught me a lot that I did not fully appreciate until later in life. I loved boarding and I learnt a lot about being more tolerant and cooperative and probably more accepting of people for who they are,” Piggott says.

He believes that plays well into today’s role as chief executive of Halter, more inclined to seek out people based on their values and empathy, rather than getting too hung up on what their qualification may or may not include.

He believes St Peter’s diverse range of students, drawn from all walks of life have played into who he is today.

“We had students from Auckland, international students too from all over the place. They were people who I would never have met otherwise, very diverse, intelligent and interesting,” he says.

Rather than having a particular focus on agriculture at St Peter’s, he was more focused on STEM – science, tech, engineering and maths – enjoying the project-focused nature of the work and sometimes the opportunity to expand on it using his parents’ farm as a trial base.

“I had always been really curious about automation and building things that in my mind created leverage – that is you only design them once and they keep on delivering on the same task, over and over,” he says.

Piggott says he appreciated St Peter’s open approach to learning and the sense that one could follow any pathway they chose through the school curriculum.

“As a kid you tend to get quite closedminded about how you will achieve your career pathway,” he says.

He urges pupils to take advantage of that open environment, keeping an open mind on their future pathway.

“You often do think it will be one thing one way, but people change all the time and there are many different ways to get to the same place,” he says.

It was that self-belief and his early experience at Rocket Lab working for Peter Beck that provided the catalyst to bring his Halter concept to life.

“New Zealand did not have a space industry until then and my motivation became that if Peter could do that with rockets from scratch, I should be able to do something with Halter in what is our biggest industry. I just ended up coming to it with more of an engineering perspective than a farming perspective,” he says.

Rather than any one mentor or influencer during his time at St Peter’s, he attributes the school’s co-ed nature, its positive boarding environment and diverse pupils as all playing a part in helping him shape the company and the

St Peter’s agricultural and horticultural department head Rebecca McGuire says the school has 300 students participating in ag and hort studies, which represent a significant portion of the school’s roll. McGuire during the Christmas tree planting.

people he works with today.

St Peter’s agricultural and horticultural department head Rebecca McGuire says Piggott’s achievements highlight the immense variety of career options and opportunities that students can find in the agri-sector today.

She oversees the syllabus covering Year 9 to Year 13, capturing a wide variety of students whose interests in the industry extend from being hands-on farmers to advancing through science and commerce, to work in the sector’s many science, research and industry sectors.

McGuire and her colleagues have worked hard to provide students with many varied opportunities to engage with all aspects of the sector.

This year, that included entering the Fieldays Innovation awards with three groundbreaking entries, including the Mark-It drench marker and Tappit, a concept design for an in-trough tap.

The St Peter’s campus also provides some innovative opportunities for students to see their work progress from growing it, to final processing and sale.

This includes winemaking, with this year’s vintage including a Rosé and a bubbly wine, harvested off the school’s block.

“We had students from across the board engaged, with Year 9 and 10s pruning the vines through the year, chemistry students estimating pH and acid levels for harvest and science classes determining the sugar levels,” McGuire says.

The wine was bottled at Volcanic Hills winery at Rotorua.

Also on campus, a Christmas tree business has been established, working on a three-year period before the first crop is harvested next Christmas.

McGuire says the 300 students at St Peter’s participating in ag and hort studies represent a significant portion of the school’s roll and interest is growing every year from students keen to explore the opportunities New Zealand’s thriving primary sector offers them.

“We try to expose them to as wide a base of jobs and sectors as possible. We are also looking forward to being able to offer students longer stay experiences in different jobs to get a real sense of what those jobs entail,” she says. n

This year students from St Peter’s entered the Fieldays Innovation awards with three groundbreaking entries, including the Mark-It drench marker, and Tappit, a concept design for an in-trough tap.

stpeters.school.nz

Limited boarding spaces available for boys and girls for 2022. Day and boarding spaces available from 2023. Use the QR code to take a virtual tour.

Short course, long-lasting skills

By Samantha Tennent

With ever-changing rules and regulations, it has become vital that rural professionals can upskill to keep farmers informed.

Specific expertise is needed to help farmers understand and meet their environmental requirements, but the sector has been lacking people with the necessary qualifications. Massey University set about filling the gap and now they have had more than 4300 people enroll in their range of Ag professional development courses.

“We are sending people back to farms with training that will improve the sustainability of agriculture,” Dr Lucy Burkitt, senior research officer within the School of Agriculture and Environment, says

“It’s exciting that Massey is having a real impact on the sustainability of New Zealand farming and the popularity of these courses speaks volumes.”

The courses are run through the Farmed Landscapes Research Centre (FLRC) at Massey and they have been tailored to the needs of science, industry, policy and regulatory bodies concerned with primary production.

The initial development of the courses was the vision of Emeritus Professor Mike Hedley, who drove collaboration across the sector.

“What is taught in the courses has become an essential skill base for New Zealand farmers,” Hedley says.

“They need nutrient management and farm environmental planning skills to meet the agreed future greenhouse gas emissions and freshwater regulatory requirements that industry bodies and government have recently agreed on.”

Kate Proctor is a senior regulatory advisor at Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and has completed four of the FLRC courses over the past eight years.

“I found these courses the most relevant to real life and the work I do at the council,” Proctor says.

“The practical, applied knowledge and skills we developed through the courses have really helped my conversations on farms.”

She comes from a sheep and beef background and studied natural resource management at Massey University. She could see the opportunities to extend her knowledge with the FLRC courses.

“The things I learnt have helped me secure jobs by having the knowledge and experience in the different areas from effluent and nutrient management to greenhouse gases,” she says.

“And the connections I’ve made through the courses have been valuable to help me to support farmers.”

Another course graduate Adam Duker also praises the networking opportunities.

“Having connections with other industry professionals really helps collaboration across the sector,” Duker says.

He works at DairyNZ as a solutions and development lead advisor and values the ability to get up-to-date knowledge to build his integrity for advising and supporting farmers.

“Doing the short courses adds a qualification to wrap around my practical knowledge and I appreciate being able to pass the updated industry knowledge onto farmers,” he says.

Dr Mike Bretherton talks about soil during the course with Ravensdown senior agri manager James Livingston and other participants.

“It’s exciting that Massey is having a real impact on the sustainability of New Zealand farming and the popularity of these courses speaks volumes.” Dr Lucy Burkitt

“There is a demand for knowledgeable people to support the sector, I definitely recommend the FLRC courses to anyone who wants to extend their knowledge in the environmental space.”

The first courses were in sustainable nutrient management and soil science, but other courses have been added along the way, such as Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Management and Farm Dairy Effluent: System Design and Management.

When it was mandated in 2020 that most NZ farms have a freshwater management plan, Massey was approached by the industry to deliver new courses on this topic, which led to the development of three courses, including Analysis of NZ Agricultural Systems, Intermediate Farm Environmental Planning and Advanced Farm Environmental Planning.

There are now six FLRC professional development short courses available, as well as two affiliated courses.

And the shorter format of the courses appeals to students as many are working full-time.

The courses are designed to offer relevant learning that can complement their current employment.

“They are a sizable commitment and did need a bit of managing to fit around my normal workload, but the learning related to my practical knowledge so it wasn’t like learning a foreign language at least,” Duker says.

Farmers need to feel confident in receiving advice and the sector needs talented people to continue progress. Ravensdown general manager of innovation and strategy Mike Manning has been championing the upskilling of rural professionals in nutrient management and environmental protection for some time.

“It’s becoming more and more important and a huge reason for the success of these courses lies in bringing the connection to the industry,” Manning says.

“Outcomes in areas such as seed, agchem, nutrients and farm systems reflect the latest thinking and are grounded in reality.

“There’s every reason to think these kinds of courses will continue to go from strength to strength.” n Hawke’s Bay Regional Council senior regulatory advisor Kate Proctor has completed four short courses through the Farmed Landscapes Research Centre at Massey University and says that they have helped her to do her job better.

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Details on Massey’s professional development courses, including enrolments, can be found at massey. ac.nz/~flrc/courses.html

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Dairying in the classroom

By Gerald Piddock

A new teaching resource is helping school children discover the wonders of science and dairying.

New Zealand schoolchildren will be able to learn the science behind dairying following the creation of a new teaching resource by House of Science and DairyNZ.

Called Moo to You, the teaching kit for primary and intermediate school children is designed to give an overview of how the dairy industry uses science.

Activities within the kit include a classification activity, the chemistry of milk, dairying’s environmental impact and a grass-growing experiment that explains the importance of a varied diet for cows to ensure a healthy calf and milk.

The organisation is a charitable trust that for the past eight years has been providing a science resource library to around 500 primary schools nationwide to help teachers.

Founder and chief executive Chris Duggan says Moo to You is the first dairy industry-based resource within House of Science’s library.

DairyNZ approached Duggan and asked her if the trust was interested in creating a resource for teachers with a dairy focus and the kit was created in time for the school term that has just started.

“It’s all about empowering the teachers so they can really deliver meaningful science that’s hands-on and engaging for their students,” Duggan says.

“Already, there’s 46 bookings of the kits for the next few weeks so it’s been extremely popular.”

“It’s huge and we’ve not seen that kind of uptake before.”

Moo to You also includes a support website with resources for teachers to show the science behind the activities and experiments in the kit.

The kit was also designed in part so children have a better understanding of where their

House of Science founder and chief executive Chris Duggan says their new Moo to You teaching kit has been hugely popular with teachers.

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milk comes from, she says.

“That’s a big part of the learning.”

DairyNZ are supporting the initiative for the next three years at a cost of $92,000.

“It’s our biggest sponsorship partnership and we’re really excited about it,” she says.

The resource kit complements the online learning resources and the farm visits that DairyNZ strategy and investment leader for responsible dairy David Burger says its been providing for schools for many years.

“We see it as a very exciting kit for schoolchildren and it’s all about getting kids to interact with dairy in a fun and interactive way and we really wanted to help kids understand the science behind where their milk comes from – it doesn’t come from the supermarket, it comes from cows in the countryside,” Burger says.

Moo to You looked at the living world, nutrients and milk production. Children today knew much less about where their food came from and he says this resource helped teach that knowledge.

He says science was also the solution to many of the challenges the dairy sector faced and Moo to You provided a spark to children to hopefully get them interested in the industry.

Moo to You is one component of DairyNZ’s education programme alongside Rosie the Cow and initiatives to get children on to dairy farms to see what they have learned in the classroom out in the real world.

Prior to the covid lockdown, DairyNZ was subsidising around 5000 children and their parents to travel to these farms.

“The reason we partnered with the House of Science is they have got a real focus on building children’s scientific understanding of key issues,” he says.

“That’s really important to us at DairyNZ as a sciencebased organisation.” n

“It’s all about empowering the teachers so they can really deliver meaningful science that’s hands-on and engaging for their students.”

Chris Duggan

Moo to You is the first dairy industry-based resource for school children and 46 Moo to You kits were sent out to schools within the first week of its launch.

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A daily dose of Pulse

St Paul’s agribusiness curriculum director Kerry Allen says Pulse is extremely handy for keeping up-to-date with current events, reports and what’s driving conversations in the primary sector.

By Sonita Chandar

A daily newsletter is proving to be a valuable teaching resource for our future agripreneurs, as well as providing readers with insights and up-to-date information on the issues affecting the agricultural sector.

Up and down the country, students are reading it, teachers are reading it, politicians are reading it, and so are farmers and hundreds of others.

Pulse, the daily newsletter from GlobalHQ, is keeping subscribers informed and up-to-date with current events and raising awareness of what is happening in the primary sector.

“Pulse is our daily email newsletter that aims to inform, educate and connect the primary sector with the most up-to-date relevant news, weather, thought-provoking commentary and expert insight in an easy to read modern format,” Pulse business development manager Sarah Gilbertson says.

“It is a great tool and resource for our agripreneurs of the future. It will help them gain an insight into the range of opportunities on offer and how a career in the industry can be a stable and rewarding one.

“In a world where people are time-poor and swamped by information from so

many sources of extreme opinions, Pulse will help make our agripreneurs feel part of a community that is forward-thinking and positive.”

Schools, including St Paul’s Collegiate School in Hamilton, get Pulse delivered direct to their inboxes and are finding it a valuable teaching resource for their ag students.

St Paul’s is an independent day (55%) and boarding (45%) school for boys from Year 9-13 (81%) and girls from Year 11-13 (19%). The rural community has always been a cornerstone of the school, mainly through its association with the boarding community, as rural families make up the majority of students in boarding.

Because of its rural connections, two primary sector courses – Agricultural and Horticultural Science and Agribusiness – are offered at NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3.

“The agriculture and horticulture sectors are the heartbeat of the New Zealand economy,” St Paul’s agribusiness curriculum director Kerry Allen says.

“This course covers in-depth studies of plant and animal production in New Zealand, together with understanding of the environmental issues that face the New Zealand agricultural and horticultural sectors today.

“Being such an important and relevant part of the New Zealand economy, the course also offers insight into how market forces affect supply and demand of our primary products.”

With the growing demand for skilled workers in the primary industries, the school has teamed up with DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb NZ and 11 primary sector organisations to create NZ’s first agribusiness curriculum for secondary school students.

The curriculum covers a range of topics, including plant science; soil science; food science; microbiology; agri-management and finance; economics; digital technologies; agri-innovations; agrimarketing; primary production processes; and future-proofing, growing value and international trade. Students are exposed to the wide range of skills required and the opportunities available in the primary sector up to and beyond the farm gate. It is offered at NCEA Levels 2 and 3 and has been designed for students who excel in science and commerce.

“Pulse is a great resource to use in my classroom. The daily newsletter is extremely handy for keeping up-to-date with current events, reports and what is on top in the primary sector, without having to search or look for it,” Allen says.

“The subjects of Agricultural and St Paul’s Collegiate School students use Pulse for their agricultural studies and are finding it to be a valuable source of news and information.

“As an Agribusiness student, Pulse’s network of information has been a turning point for me, as I am regularly informed on the insight that may help me with my investigations and reports for my studies.”

Sophie Marsh

Horticultural Science and Agribusiness contexts are usually based on topical matters, so it is good to be exposed to the latest and current information. Often this type of information is missed, so it is good to have it highlighted that it is out or has been published.

“All of my students can access it, so there is no excuse for them not to be ‘au fait’ with statistics, latest research or technology, or exposed to thoughts and opinions from primary sector leaders.”

Understanding the weather and what is coming up for the week has proven invaluable to Allen, as it allows her to better plan her classroom activities.

“Knowing what the weather is likely to be means we can attend to our orchard and garden plots, enabling us to make the most of the best weather for the week.”

Year 12 Agricultural and Horticultural Science and Agribusiness student Benjamin James says he enjoys the variety of Pulse.

“Every time Pulse arrives, it always has something new and interesting to read about. Another thing that I like about Pulse is the little activities that they have. Even though they are short, they are still good to do,” James says.

“All the newspapers and news websites are all focused around covid-19 at the moment, so it is really nice to read about things that can impact the whole agricultural industry. It is always important to keep in touch with the weather when on a farm, so having the weather update every day is very helpful. Thanks Pulse.”

For Year 13 Agribusiness student Sophie Marsh, Pulse has been a beneficial source to turn to for the latest developments and issues in the industry.

“As an Agribusiness student, Pulse’s network of information has been a turning point for me, as I am regularly informed on the insight that may help me with my investigations and reports for my studies. Overall, I have found Pulse to be a great help and look forward to my newsletter.”

Many others have expressed similar sentiments and a recent subscriber survey showed positive results all round.

Pulse was launched earlier this year and is a subscription-only digital newsletter, crafted daily by the trusted independent source of the Farmers Weekly, WeatherWatch and AgriHQ newsrooms, five days a week, 50 weeks of the year. n

Modern approach to learning

By Samantha Tennent

New Zealand is well-known for its high animal welfare standard but now there is formal qualification available.

Animal wellbeing is a critical element for accessing international markets and NZ has a reputation globally for maintaining high standards. But consumers around the world are wanting to know more about where their food comes from and how it is being made and are demanding more evidence.

Farmers are nervous about how they can demonstrate they are meeting regulations through good animal care practices on farms. Fortunately, a new training programme for dairy farmers surrounding animal wellbeing is being developed by QCONZ to give farmers confidence they are achieving high standards of animal wellbeing.

“We’ve had ambitions for a long time to better support farmers around animal welfare and wellbeing,” QCONZ general manager of business and people development Chris Leach says.

“Because we recognised a potential gap in the current training delivery and with the introduction of assurance programmes by the various dairy processors, particularly Fonterra through the Co-operative Difference framework, the timing is right to build the support.”

The training has been developed in collaboration with Fonterra and DairyNZ and will be offered through the Universal College of Learning (UCOL), which is a subsidiary of the newly formed Te Pukenga. It is NZQA-approved and funded by the Tertiary Education Commission so there are no fees for attendees.

“Looking after animals is something our farmers generally do well and are particularly proud of, so by wrapping some training around it we are helping farmers tell that story,” he says.

“And having a formal qualification that recognises capability on-farm is an excellent way to demonstrate to the public and our international markets that we care for our cows and we do it in a good way.”

Throughout the training they will help farmers understand how they fit into the bigger picture, what happens with international markets and the competitive advantage we have in NZ. And there is also a focus on reviewing current practices to highlight what they are already doing.

“We often find farmers are aware of the codes of welfare but are unsure if they are meeting the standards or not,” he says.

“The aim of the programme is to reassure farmers they are compliant and meeting the standards, but then it’s about taking them further as well, looking at the benefits of implementing better practice on farm and going beyond the minimum.

“Moving from good to great and reaping the rewards of applying best practice.”

They are aiming to start the first programme in autumn next year and targeting on-farm decision-makers, including herd managers, farm managers, owners, sharemilkers and aspiring managers. Building the skills and knowledge associated with the management of wellbeing and care of dairy cattle is the intended outcome of the programme.

It will be delivered using a blend of online self-directed learning, as well as face-to-face workshops and workplacebased skills practice. A key outcome will be to support farmers when having the discussion with their veterinarian to develop a comprehensive wellbeing plan that is specific to the individual farm.

Although it aligns with the animal focus of The Fonterra Co-operative Difference framework, the programme will benefit all dairy farmers and it can be tailored to meet specific assurance requirements for other processors where required.

This programme is an example of many smaller training formats that are being developed across the sector that earn trainees micro-credentials.

“We are moving away from long training programmes that take place over 12-18 months and recognising the needs of learners and how to extend their capabilities,” he says.

“This approach of delivering some short, focused learning and microcredentials provides opportunities to address multiple issues.

“And as the offerings develop, we are hopeful that learners will be able to stack micro-credentials to obtain an overall qualification. It’s a modern approach to learning that allows us to adapt and meet the developing needs of our sector.” n

QCONZ general manager of business and people development Chris Leach says new animal welfare training that has been developed will give farmers the confidence they are achieving high standards.

A first for Otago University

By Tony Benny

New agricultural courses are being introduced at Otago University for those students who may eventually work in the wider sector in a bid to raise awareness of the issues faced by the industry.

The University of Otago has named Dr Craig Bunt as inaugural professor of agricultural innovation, leading a programme launched in 2019 to add a farming component to the studies of science or commerce students.

Previously an associate professor in animal science at Lincoln University, Bunt’s scientific contributions span veterinary pharmaceutics, food science and environmental management tools.

He says the new course is not intended to compete with the agriculture degrees diploma provided by Lincoln, but is for graduates less immersed in farming.

“If you’re going to have 90% of your time on-farm or you’re visiting farms every day in a totally-focused rural support role as a consultant or a rep, then a BAgSci or BComAg from Lincoln is for you,” Bunt says.

“But if you’re a science or commerce student who knows you need to be aware of the ag issues that we’re facing and know or suspect there aren’t simple answers and an Otago degree is what’s drawing your attention then our courses, that you can do as a major or a minor, are there.

“As agriculture is such a huge industry for New Zealand, students from any discipline can learn from and about the industry and apply their area of expertise and interest for the benefit of agriculture.”

Otago University isn’t generally known for offering agricultural courses but Bunt says a focus on agricultural research was part of its original charter.

An Otago graduate himself, he worked in farming-related industries even though he studied pharmacy at university.

“I was an ag student but didn’t know it and I took my PhD in pharmaceutics and went and worked for a veterinary pharmaceutical company and later for AgResearch and Lincoln University, so that’s how someone with a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree is now a professor of agriculture,” he says.

Future graduates, who’ve added ag papers to their science or commerce degrees, will be ready for a similar career path, helping confront the complex issues facing New Zealand farming.

“My opinion is that there’s a perception that ag is an easy fix in terms of what it’s not doing right and what it could do better but if there was an easy fix, it would be done tomorrow.” n

“As agriculture is such a huge industry for New Zealand, students from any discipline can learn from and about the industry and apply their area of expertise and interest for the benefit of agriculture.”

Dr Craig Bunt

Dr Craig Bunt is the University of Otago’s inaugural professor of agricultural innovation.

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