Educational resources for schools & students
Read, listen to and watch what is happening in New Zealand agriculture by scanning the QR codes or following the links. Answer the questions to complete the exercises.
What’s the best office in the world?
Farmstrong is working to improve the wellbeing of people working in the food and fibre sector. Over the past two years Gerard Vaughan and video maker Nigel Beckford have been busy interviewing Kiwi farmers about what they do to keep well.
bit.ly/worlds-best-office
Have a go:
1. What is one of the top tips from the farmers who were interviewed?
2. International research refers to the Big 5, what are these?
3. What are the benefits of farmers taking a moment to appreciate that they have the ‘best office in the world’?
4. Why does Sam Whitelock say farming is a lot like rugby?
Stretch yourself:
5. Farmers can be geographically isolated. Why is the work Farmstrong is doing to connect with farmers so important?
See more at farmstrong.co.nz
Why are cherries so good?
Cherries grown in New Zealand are officially jam-packed with components essential to human health, according to new research.
bit.ly/cherries-on-top
Have a go:
1. How many varieties of cherry are grown in New Zealand?
2. What are some of the health benefits from eating cherries?
3. The study looked at fresh and packaged cherries. Is there a major difference in the health promoting compounds after transporting and packaging?
4. What is the estimated amount of cherry waste produced in New Zealand annually?
Stretch yourself:
5. What do you think could be some uses for the cherry waste and seconds that don’t get to the shop shelves?
For more about research see riddet.ac.nz
Can every day be different?
Pāmu (meaning ‘to farm’) is the brand name for our state owned Landcorp Farming Limited, they have a variety of farms throughout New Zealand. This video looks at a day in the life of a Pāmu livestock farmer.
bit.ly/pamu-day-in-life
Have a go:
1. What types of farms are run by Pāmu?
2. What are three, or more, reasons staff enjoy working at Pāmu?
3. What happens at the weekly toolbox meetings?
Stretch yourself:
4. What kind of people are likely to succeed at Pāmu? Explain why. For more see pamunewzealand.com
Analyse this
What is happening with lamb values?
AgriHQ analyses North Island lamb slaughter prices for the last two years.
Have a go:
1. What does the grey shaded area of the graph show?
2. Typically, lamb slaughter values are at their lowest between February and May. Explain why you agree or disagree with this statement.
3. For the past two seasons, which month has returned the highest value?
4. Slaughter prices are paid in $/kg CW. What does CW stand for?
Stretch yourself:
5. What is the meaning of a slaughter price versus a store price?
6. If slaughter prices are published as $/kg CW, what are store prices published as?
7. How does the value in August this season compare with the same month last season? Estimate what percentage difference this is? Source: