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Secondly, a key to the organization’s success is its invest-
ment in leadership development. New Zealand Young
Farmers wants to produce the next generation of rural
leaders and industry experts. With generational change
happening on farms (the average age of farm owners in
New Zealand is late-50s) there is a strong need for well-
educated and technology-aware people to come through.
Lastly, New Zealand Young Farmers works with schools
and the education framework to improve and increase the
awareness of what this primary industry is and does for the
New Zealand economy. Not only is it important to get more
skilled young people into the industry, which incidentally
pays around 8 per cent higher than the national average
for all jobs, but there is also a need to make urban and city
people aware of the issues around the primary industry.
New Zealand conditions
New Zealand is made up of two major islands in the South
Pacific, completely surrounded by water, so not affected
environmentally from the effects of other nations’ policies
and practices in a physical sense. It has a temperate climate
and plenty of rainfall, giving New Zealand a clean and green
reputation. This is important for a number of reasons.
Being able to produce clean and pure food enables New
Zealand farmers to command a premium price for their
products in the global market, giving them better average
income than most Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development countries (incomes before subsidies). It is
important to note that New Zealand farmers do not receive
any government subsidies at all since 1986, and need to
operate efficient and environmental operations on their own.
In addition, New Zealand is very focused on sustain-
able resources, food safety and authentic provenance of
product. This adds value to the price of New Zealand’s
products in the global market. This reflects the very soul
of New Zealand, whose principles include being staunchly
anti-nuclear (since the mid-1980s) and anti-whaling in the
southern ocean.
New Zealand also has ideal conditions for produc-
ing milk and milk solids and has one major cooperative
(Fonterra) which controls about one third of the global
dairy trade. Most milk producing countries satisfy domes-
tic consumption and any surplus is exported. With only a
small population of 4.5 million people, New Zealand has
harnessed its resources through a single desk platform and
exports powdered milk to 113 countries, especially those
countries where there is insufficient production to satisfy
domestic demand.
Issues for New Zealand farmers
Like most countries, large percentages of young people in
New Zealand want to live in the cities and are migrating
away from rural living. There is also a problem that urban
schools don’t recommend the primary industry to bright
students and therefore the number of available talent going
to university to study Agriculture, Agricultural Science, or
Agricultural Commerce is very weak. In fact current figures
suggest that there are 2,000 jobs annually available for agri-
culture-qualified graduates but only around 200 graduates
to fill the positions.
With nearly a third of New Zealanders living in its biggest
city Auckland – and this figure projected to rise to 40 per
cent over the next 20 years – a major issue is that a large
voter base of people, who have little or no understanding
of the issues or importance of agriculture to the economy,
is going to dictate rural policy. There is a need to inform
and educate the broader population about the sector and
ensure governments do not erode the viability of farming.
The average size of farms is increasing in New Zealand
and herd numbers (particularly on dairy farms) are also
increasing. This means that family farmers are now signifi-
cant employers as a sector. Most farmers have little or no
experience in managing staff, and this has been identified
as one of the critical issues in maintaining and enhancing
the viability of farming. With many farmers’ children not
wanting to work on the farm and moving to the cities, it
is extremely important that family farmers become good
employers to attract and retain farm workers.
Climate change is another issue, with the increase of
severe weather events and increasing drought conditions.
For large parts of rural New Zealand there is sufficient
water access for irrigation, but for other areas, this is a
major problem with the costs of supplementary feed being
expensive and stock being sold off to allow the land to
recover. Ironically, New Zealand allows 98 per cent of its
river flows to run out to sea. Research and investment in
retaining water in storage lakes is vital.
Image: New Zealand Young Farmers
New Zealand has ideal conditions for producing milk and milk solids and it
exports powdered milk to 113 countries
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eep
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